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Latest Structured Finance News

• ABS Manager Rankings
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  View the year-to-date manager rankings for the different ABS sectors, including real estate, credit cards and autos.

• ABS Totals
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  View the year-to-date ABS issuance totals for ABS, MBS and CMBS.

• Mortgage Refi Data
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  See results from the Mortgage Banker's Associations Refinance and Purchase Indexes as well as the weekly mortgage rates surveyed by Freddie Mac.

• Scorecards
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  View the Scorecard deals featured in ASR's latest issue.

• Whispers
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  RiverSource Investments, a unit of Ameriprise Financial, has hired Todd White as structured assets sector team leader. White will be a portfolio manager for the following retail and variable portfolio (VP) funds: RiverSource Diversified Bond Fund, RiverSource VP Diversified Bond Fund, RiverSource Limited Duration Bond Fund, RiverSource Short Duration U.S. Government Fund, RiverSource VP Short Duration U.S. Government Fund, RiverSource U.S. Government Mortgage Fund, RiverSource Balanced Fund and RiverSource VP Balanced Fund. He brings to the company over 22 years of experience in fixed-income investing, specializing in MBS, ABS and interest rate trading. Before joining RiverSource Investments, White was managing director and global head of MBS and ABS as well as North American head of interest rate trading at HSBC. Before that, he spent 18 years at Lehman Brothers, most recently as managing director and head of the residential mortgage and option businesses.

• ReREMICs Tell the ABS Story
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  Resecuritizations or ReREMICs are following the trajectory of the ABS market pretty closely. ABS participants initially turned to this structure because it was a path to market liquidity. It was good way for dealers to try to move inventory around. In fact, in October, there were a few ReREMICs that came to market, most of which were driven by liquidity needs. However - since they are still part of the volatile market that we are all experiencing - sources said that bid lists for these transactions have been revised daily as a result of pricing and supply considerations. For now, the market for these deals has dried up.

• Lack of Pricing Clarity Still Plagues ABS Market
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  The ABS market suffered yet another week of frozen new issuance and paltry trading activity in the secondary market. Hopes of pricing clarity for illiquid assets were quashed when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made the announcement that he would not be implementing the troubled asset purchase program as previously expected. On news of the announcement, the ABX-HE-AAA 07-2 dropped to close Wednesday at 36.67, a record low for the index.

• FHFA Announces Streamlined Loan Modification Program
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new streamlined loan modification program last Tuesday. Loans that will come under the program include those of high-risk borrowers who have missed three payments or more, occupy their residence, and have not filed for bankruptcy.

• Terminating Transactions Under a 1992 Master Agreement Following an Event of Default
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  Recent events in the financial markets have highlighted the importance of parties to a 1992 Master Agreement1 understanding the termination mechanics following an event of default. It is now more vital than ever for the Non-defaulting Party to have a clear and effective close-out mechanism to replace the terminated derivative transaction as quickly as possible.2 In contrast to a Termination Event, which may be triggered without the fault of either party and is designed to close out a Transaction following an event that substantially alters the Transaction's economic profile, an Event of Default arises where the fault of a party triggers termination. The purpose of this article is to briefly examine the consequences of an Event of Default and the subsequent process by which the Non-defaulting Party can terminate an Agreement.

• Auto Sector Needs Help Too
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  The automotive sector was in the spotlight last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an emergency and limited financial assistance package for the beleaguered industry. President-elect Barack Obama also asked for immediate help for the automobile companies. The calls for assistance came amidst negative corporate news regarding the Big Three U.S. automakers.

• Mixed Flows in Short Trading Week
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  Through midweek last week, mortgages experienced modest two-way flows and a less supportive tone versus the first week of November. Heavy and widespread buying - pushed by the improvement in Libor and dollar rolls - had Barclays Capital's MBS Index outperforming Treasurys by 89 basis points through Nov. 7. This, in turn, has made investors more cautious about protecting their gains in the current financial environment.

• Euro Housing Still on the Decline Despite Rate Cuts
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  Aggressive rate cuts over the past week - the Bank of England's (BofE) 150 basis points easing along with the European Central Bank's 50 basis points cut - are likely to improve loan affordability in existing household credit. However, the cuts might not be enough to curb the downward cycle in highly levered European housing markets, experts said.

• Spain Launches New Defense Against Mortgage Defaults
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  The Spanish government announced the launch of a mortgage deferral measure to aid unemployed, old-age pensioners and self-employed borrowers struggling to pay their mortgages. Although the move could potentially bailout a significant number of struggling homeowners, there could be a potential downside for existing Spanish RMBS deals. 'If we assume that the reported government estimates of 500,000 borrowers end up using the scheme and they all defer the maximum >500 ($625) a month from day one, the total guaranteed deferred payments would amount to >6 billion or some 2.2% of Spanish GDP over two years,' Deutsche Bank analysts said.

• Spanish Government Opens New Fund
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  The new Spanish government fund Fondo de Adquisicion de Activos Financieros (FAAF) will start operations this week. The fund is intended to strengthen domestic bank liquidity through asset purchases, with Cedulas or Spanish covered bonds playing the leading role. 'FAAF is intended to strengthen the liquidity of Spanish financial institutions through asset purchases, in order to stabilize the supply of credit to the private sector and to Spanish companies, which [have been] hard hit by the economic downturn,' Dresdner Kleinwort analysts said. 'It is not a refuge for nonperforming securities, however, but only accepts highly rated papers. Cedulas will play the leading role in this respect.'

• TARP Dead on Arrival: What's Next for the ABS Industry?
  November 20th, 2008, 11:38 AM (PST)
  With economic conditions worsening, the U.S. government has stepped up its bailout efforts - doling out $250 billion allotted under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) for equity investments in financial institutions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson last week formally shelved the government's plan to use the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which is part of the $700 billion EESA, to buy troubled assets from banks. Instead, the Treasury has chosen the equity stake route for financial institutions and will focus more on the consumer, attempting to increase the availability of student loans, credit cards and auto loans. It will also encourage private sector involvement by potentially matching private capital with government investments.