Asset Securitization Report articles from January 2005

Asset Securitization Report archives from January 2005

Whispers.(APPOINTMENTS)
January 10, 2005... Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, the Arlington, Va.-based investment bank, has hired a team of mortgage-backed securities sales and trading professionals from Freddie Mac to create its own institutional MBS trading business. The team will be...

Citigroup manages nearly $83 billion in record 2004 for ABS Countrywide not far off...
January 10, 2005... In 2004 the asset-backed securities market swelled to $858 billion, and while 2005 is expected to be another solid year, analysts are already predicting a drop-off from that record shattering number. But even if the market soars to new heights...

German NPL deal inches closer.
January 10, 2005... A slowing economy, corporate-bankruptcies and falling home prices in Eastern Germany, have led to German banks accumulating a number of problem loans on their balance sheets. A collective 250 billion of non-performing loans are estimated to be...

ABS fuels Metris 2004 turnaround.
January 10, 2005... For most U.S. ABS issuers, 2004 was a year of prosperity. Driven by an overabundance of demand, many issuers repeatedly tapped the primary market, pricing transactions at steadily tightening spreads. For Metris Companies, however, 2004 was a...

Reg AB: More transparency, but at what cost?
January 10, 2005... For those that believe disclosure is the best disinfectant, the Securities and Exchange Commission's freshly minted asset-backed securities regulation, dubbed Reg AB, will be a welcome addition to the ABS marketplace for some. The rule is a...

Countrywide bolts to the head of the issuer pack with $87 billion.
January 10, 2005... Countrywide Home Loans Inc. was far and away the most prolific issuer of ABS last year, blasting out over $87 billion of supply. That number represents over 10% of the $858 billion ABS market last year, and is even more impressive considering...

Strong demand rings in ABS New Year with record tights.(asset backed securities)
January 10, 2005... The U.S. ABS primary market returned refreshed from the holiday break during the latter half of last week to price upwards of $13 billion as of Thursday evening. Both the home equity and auto sectors started the New Year off strong. The...

Swiss Re structures life insurance offering.(Swiss Reinsurance Co.)
January 10, 2005... Swiss Reinsurance Co. is expected to bring a $245 million deal backed by the future profits on a life insurance portfolio via affiliate Swiss Re Capital Markets later this month, according to market sources. The deal marks one of the first such...

Merrill's CDO investment pays off with No. 1 ranking.(collateralized debt obligation)
January 10, 2005... Merrill Lynch ran away with the lead in the U.S. CDO league tables in 2004, according to data maintained by Thomson Financial, more than tripling its total underwriting volume from the previous year. With more than $15 billion of CDO product...

Wall Street opens up to Main Street.
January 10, 2005... Although the technology used in Main Street Warehouse Funding Trust - a mortgage warehouse facility that provides short-term financing - has been seen before, it is the first time that an unrated, private entity such as AmeriQuest Mortgage Co....

MBNA introduces Europe to de-linked structure.
January 10, 2005... A busy 2004 saw primary ABS volumes exceed expectations on the European front. Among the many contenders to emerge for European ABS deal of the year, one deal that stood out for it's innovative and breakthrough qualities was MBNA Europe Bank's...

TSI sets up ABS future in Germany.
January 10, 2005... Last year saw Germany's True Sale International finally bring to stage the much-awaited launch of the inaugural funded German true-sale via this German based SPV. The collective group of German entities to back the TSI (see ASR 10/18/04) had...

Brascan leads CMBS B-tranche CDO innovation.(collateralized debt obligations)
January 10, 2005... It was a year of increased stability in terms of credit ratings for CDO market and subsequently, investors that previously exited the product returned in strong numbers in 2004. Thanks to the asset class' yieldlier environment - compared to...

GMAC Commercial Mtg brings revolving collateral deal.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Morgan Stanley and RFC Securities underwrote a unique revolving CDO structure, Capital Trust RE CDO 2004-1, managed by GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Markets Corp. Priced in May, the $370 million deal was backed by previously issued B-piece...

Su Casita and GMAC-RFC introduce Mexico to RMBS.(Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities)
January 10, 2005... With Mexican peso ABS in ascendance and cross-border Latin America offering scant innovation, it was only natural that the region's deal of the year would turn out to be domestic. The distinction goes to the country's debut RMBS, which paired...

ABS takes bridges, tunnels to Hong Kong.(asset backed securities)
January 10, 2005... Looking back, 2004 was an excellent year for Asian securitization. Outside the traditional powerhouse Japan, both Singapore and Taiwan came to the fore, the cross border business from Korea saw a revival, and Hong Kong and Malaysia look set to...

Korea First Mortgage sets new Asian MBS benchmark.(mortgage backed securities)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... If there were an award for issuer of the year, Korea First Bank would be the clear winner out of the Asian region, completing two outstanding MBS deals. The first, a $499.6 million offering in April via UBS, reopened the public cross-border...

Taiwan's First Commercial Bank welcomes RMBS.(Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... The bar was raised in terms of Taiwanese deal execution last March, with First Commercial Bank completing the country's first MBS via Deutsche Bank Securities. While local regulators could be described as cautious' in approving new...

Extendable ABCP: Investors discuss their role as liquidity providers.(Asset-Backed Commercial Paper)
January 10, 2005... When the first extendable ABCP programs began drifting into the multi-seller segment of the market in 2001, issuers attributed it to a liquidity crisis. However, some investors scoff at the notion that the advent of extendable paper has been in...

Investors start the year by moving down in coupon.
January 10, 2005... Flows were mixed last week as investors returned from their long winter nap. Selling to move down in coupon was noted from hedge funds, insurance companies and servicers. Originators, meanwhile, were average to slightly below average sellers on...

Bear Stearns displaces UBS in year-end leagues.
January 10, 2005... Bear Stearns placed first in the 2004 manager activity rankings for combined agency and non-agency RMBS, according to final Thomson Financial league tables, a departure from recent history where UBS reigned as the undisputed top MBS...

Revisiting the issue of reducing minimum servicing fees.
January 10, 2005... The issue of reducing minimum mortgage servicing fees to 12.5 basis points from 25 basis points is back in the spotlight again. After failing to gain full industry support - some servicers launched a marketing effort lobbying for this change...

BMA recommends changes to Ginnie Mae's MBS program.(Mortgage Backed Securities)(Government National Mortgage Association)
January 10, 2005... Responding to Ginnie Mae's request for suggested improvements to its MBS and Multiclass Securities Programs, The Bond Market Association last week released a statement regarding suggestions on how the agency could restructure mortgage insurance...

A busy year on the European securitization front.
January 10, 2005... It was a busy beginning to 2005 and a busy end for 2004, with market estimates nearing 210 billion ($276 billion) for total 2004 issuance. As the market rallied to reach critical mass, the story that emerged was an ever-tightening spread...

Taiwan sees festive activity; Malaysia looks set for bumper 2005.
January 10, 2005... While the festive season normally sees a lull in activity, but some deal makers were eager to complete transactions before the holidays. The most noteworthy was the completion of Hong Kong's Pan-Asian Mortgage Company's HK$257 million ($33...

Whispers.(appointments)
January 17, 2005... Vincent Fiorillo, an executive director on the mortgage origination desk at Morgan Stanley, is leaving the firm to take a position on the buyside with investment management firm TCW. Fiorillo has been with Morgan Stanley for more than 15 years,...

S&P preps 1st ABS CDO benchmark.
January 17, 2005... When it comes to New Year's resolutions, Standard & Poor's commissioned a mighty goal for itself. The rating agency announced it is in the process of rolling out a benchmark for ABS CDOs, a collateral class exploding in terms of issuance...

New MBS products equal opportunity.(Mortgage Backed Securities)
January 17, 2005... NEW YORK - At the Bear Stearns' Mortgage and Structured Products Conference 2005 held here last week, analysts expressed concern about whether the influx of new affordability mortgage products has created artificial borrower demand, making...

FBR to pounce on subprime HEL.(Friedman Billings Ramsey)(home equity )
January 17, 2005... Friedman Billings Ramsey is expected to file an S-1 shelf filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a home equity ABS dealer shelf in coming weeks, the first for the Arlington, Va.-based firm, sources said. Officials at FBR...

Sallie Mae slips smoothly out of GSE status.(Government Sponsored Enterprise )
January 17, 2005... In a move that has been expected for the past three years, Sallie Mae has completed its transition out of GSE status to become a non-government entity. The move was originally slated for completion in September 2008, but the hyperactive ABS...

Ramius Capital adds former Citigroup ABS heads.(George Graham and William Grady )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... George Graham and William Grady have joined Ramius Capital Group, a New York-based hedge fund with $7 billion in assets under management, effective at the start of the year. The pair, which jointly founded Gryfon Partners in November 2002,...

Autos stay strong in slow U.S. ABS primary.(Asset backed securities)
January 17, 2005... The U.S. ABS primary market priced roughly $6.2 billion in new issue as of last Thursday's market close, about half of the volume churned out the preceding week. The auto sector had another active week pricing over $2.8 billion. Despite being...

Bankruptcy a "one-quarter blip" for Athlete's Foot I.P. ABS.
January 17, 2005... The Athlete's Foot Stores' recent bankruptcy filing is not expected to have a material impact on the shoe retailer's securitization backed by franchise fee revenues, sources familiar with the situation said. However, analysts at Moody's...

Autos peel out to start 2005, spreads hold tight.
January 17, 2005... Automobile ABS put the pedal to the metal early this year as the sector saw one of its biggest starts in recent history. In the first two weeks of the year, nearly $11 billion was issued and 2005 is widely expected to outpace 2004, though by...

MBS spreads tighten on strong demand, light supply.
January 17, 2005... After a slow start to the New Year, mortgages were on fire last week. Spreads on 30-year Fannie Mae 4.5s were six basis points tighter; 5s were in nine basis points; 5.5s and 6s were each five basis points tighter; and 6.5s were unchanged. In...

Despite flattening, ARMs are here to stay.(Adjustable Rate Mortgage)
January 17, 2005... Despite the flatter curve, ARM production has not and is not expected to decline in the near term, analysts said. In fact, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported last week that ARM share of applications is still at a historically high 46% by...

Inflated property valuations could lead to CMBS trouble.(commercial mortgage backed securities)
January 17, 2005... Commercial property valuations exceeding the initial purchase price could lead to greater loan defaults in European CMBS transactions, reported analysts at Standard & Poor's, who warned that lenders should be wary of valuations that do not...

Primary market still quiet on European front.
January 17, 2005... Primary supply remained light last week with only a couple of deals roadshowing thus far in January. RCI Banque continued marketing the first floorplan securitization and a new CDO of ABS, Renoir I began roadshows last week. Market sources...

European insured ABS volumes to increase in 2005.(asset backed securities )
January 17, 2005... Roughly 10% of funded European ABS issuance for 2003 carried a wrap by one of the three major monolines - Ambac, FSA and MBIA, according to a report on European monocline activity by Merrill Lynch. The Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers...

Moody's sees growth in ex-Japan Asian ABS.(asset backed securities)
January 17, 2005... Moody's Investors Service is predicting another good year for the ex-Japan Asia market in 2005, with Korea, Singapore and Taiwan likely to generate most of the business. In its 2004 Review and 2005 Outlook, the agency also notes that China,...

Citigroup gets flying start to 2005.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Following a strong showing in 2004 for its ex-Japan Asian securitization business, Citigroup Global Markets has begun the New Year in similar fashion. The team, led by John Dahl, has secured cross-border mandates from two Korean air carriers,...

Whispers.(people)
January 24, 2005... Credit Suisse First Boston Managing Director and asset-backed CP global origination head Maureen Coen will assume oversight of the European conduit and credit products advisory group. CSFB Director Scott Spiegel will assume additional...

ASF expands program with investor perspectives, Reg AB, and even fun.(American Securitization Forum)
January 24, 2005... The American Securitization Forum has taken to the desert this week with its second annual securitization industry conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., and this year attendees will have more panel discussions to choose from, as well as more...

Metris offers its first double-Bs: Borrows against 2004-2 retained interest...(Metris Companies Inc.)
January 24, 2005... The Metris Companies continued its turnaround last week, pricing its first ever double-B rated transaction from the Metris Master Trust. The offering, however, was unique for several reasons and marks what Metris hopes will become programmatic...

MBS braces for more curve flattening.(Mortgage backed securities)
January 24, 2005... With the Fed on a tightening trend, analysts said that investors have to prepare mortgage valuations for the impact of the curve reshaping. In a recent report, Lehman Brothers analysts wrote, "one of the biggest developments in the bond...

Fitch sees stable ABS ratings in 2005.(Fitch and Associates Inc.)(asset backed securities)
January 24, 2005... The U.S. non-mortgage term ABS market saw more downgrades than upgrades last year, but analysts from Fitch Ratings expect the picture to even out in 2005, amid a stable ABS market. Fitch issued 183 upgrades, versus 221 downgrades in 2004, but...

Holiday-slowed U.S. ABS market tops $7.5 bln.
January 24, 2005... The U.S. primary ABS market was relatively subdued last week, pricing roughly $7.5 billion in new issues heading into the winter conference season. The home-equity sector dominated the calendar, accounting for $5.1 billion of total volume as of...

Mitsubishi ABS still shaky despite recent cash infusion.
January 24, 2005... Published reports that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is close to receiving an additional $3 billion in fresh capital from its banks and affiliates, its second bail out package in less than a year, had the ABS market buzzing once again about the fate...

Lehman sees Green Tree severity rates declining in 2005.
January 24, 2005... Severity rates for Green Tree manufactured housing ABS are expected to continue their positive trend in 2005, decreasing by 4% to 5%, according to analysts at Lehman Brothers. The declines have been largely due to a stable liquidation timeline,...

West LB christens Brightwater unit.
January 24, 2005... WestLB has combined its New York-based portfolio management unit with WestAM, the German bank's global asset management business. The 21-person investment team is now operating as a registered investment advisor under the trade name...

New credit card single seller CP conduits expected in 2005.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... NEW YORK - The credit card sector could see more single seller commercial paper conduits this year, according to Moody's Investors Service analyst William Black, vice president and senior credit officer, speaking at Moody's U.S. Consumer Credit...

Aircraft ABS grounded in the secondary market.
January 24, 2005... United Airline's tentative agreement with its pilots union last week is yet another example of the legacy airline carriers' facility at securing creative financing solutions in order to dodge the fatal bullet. However, there are reports that...

Low volatility, light supply keep MBS spreads on tightening grind.
January 24, 2005... Mortgages continued on a tightening path as the market held range bound, volatility remained low, and supply limited. Originator selling did pick up last week up from the previous week, but just back to average daily amounts of $1 billion. Most...

Fannie Mae's dividend cut slightly positive for MBS.(Mortgage backed securities)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Fannie Mae cut its quarterly dividend in half as part of the GSE's effort to build the capital required by its regulator the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. Cutting Fannie's common dividend by 50% to $0.26 is expected to improve...

Elimination of FHA insurance premium refunds may lower GNMA volume.(Federal Housing Authority)(Ginnie Mae MBS)
January 24, 2005... Recently, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) announced the elimination of upfront refunds of mortgage insurance premiums for borrowers refinancing out of FHA loans. This is expected to lower Ginnie Mae MBS volumes and noticeably affect the...

Euro ABS spreads continue to recoil in 2005.(Asset backed securities)
January 24, 2005... LONDON - Following a year dominated by the squeeze in spreads across all asset classes, market pundits are beginning to question whether market dynamics will maintain the tightening bias in 2005. At a conference held here last week on its...

U.K. home prices begin modest decline.
January 24, 2005... The five consecutive increases in U.K. real estate base rates in 2004 has finally had an impact on home prices, which recently saw negative month-to-month price changes. According to analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland, despite this...

Despite changes Dutch RMBS strong.
January 24, 2005... The Netherlands is currently the third largest mortgage market in Europe by value and volume, behind the U.K. and Spain, but the record growth experienced over the last three years should see volumes subsiding on the back of a more difficult...

Kookmin lines up rare Asian balance sheet CLO.(Collateralized Loan Obligation)
January 24, 2005... Kookmin Bank is readying what would be the country's first synthetic balance sheet CLO, sources report. The bank, which lists Euro-Pacific Growth Fund and ING among its major shareholders, has been working with Credit Suisse First Boston on a...

ING back in the Asian saddle.
January 24, 2005... After two fallow years, it seems ING has finally secured another Asian ABS mandate. ING will arrange an unwrapped credit card conduit deal for Korea's Samsung Card, according to bankers familiar with the transaction, an issuer it has previously...

Inaugural SME deal planned from Japan.(small and medium-sized entities)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... In Japan, details were being finalized last week of a plan in which several regional banks will join forces to securitize loans by small and medium-sized entities. The Nago City Government, located in Okinawa Prefecture, invited several banks...

Asiana Airlines ABS update.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Further to last week's story, (ASR 1/17/05), it is now understood from a well-placed source that Citigroup Global Markets' mandate for Korea's Asiana Airlines is not a refinancing of its 10 billion ($97.1 billion) December 2003 deal, as...

Whispers.
January 31, 2005... Mark Mylon joined Radian Asset Assurance Inc. as a senior vice president and executive managing director in the structured products group, where he will set credit enhancement for asset-backed securities and other structured transactions as...

Market braces for reporting compliance.
January 31, 2005... PHOENIX - Market participants were encouraged to get with the new reporting program, slated to be instituted by the Securities and Exchange Commission next year. At last week's ASF 2005 Conference, market participants were guided through some...

AEON preps 1st Thai credit card ABS.
January 31, 2005... AEON Thana Sinsap, the Thai subsidiary of Japan's AEON Credit Service Co., has begun marketing a THB2billion ($52 million) credit card receivables securitization via Citigroup Global Markets as lead manager. Both parties spent last week...

Market debates GMAC credit woes.
January 31, 2005... With General Motors Corp.'s corporate debt rating perched on the brink of speculative-grade territory by Standard & Poor's, most in the market seem to be confident about the spread stability on the issuer's outstanding ABS. But while most are...

SEC opens door for Reg AB practice round.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
January 31, 2005... The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it will begin accepting registration statements for ABS deals as early as March 1, as part of its pilot program to help issuers and their counsel gain comfort with Regulation AB, the industry's...

CIT poised to launch equipment ABS in 05.(CIT Group Inc)
January 31, 2005... An equipment ABS deal has yet to price in the New Year; however, the market may be warming up as sector stalwart The CIT Group has recently renewed its S3 shelf filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CIT is expected to sustain the...

HEL ABS dominates new-issue calendar.
January 31, 2005... The U.S. ABS primary market remained active last week, despite the field trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. for the American Securitization Forum's 2005 annual conference. New-issue volume totaled roughly $6.2 billion, with home equity ABS accounting...

Quiznos heats up franchise fee ABS.(Quizno's Franchise Corp.)
January 31, 2005... Quiznos, the Denver-based sandwich chain, is serving the ABS market a $250 million securitization backed by franchise fee revenues, sources said. Lehman Brothers is leading the transaction. The offering, with a 3.88-year average life, is...

Evolving CDO market contends with tight spreads.
January 31, 2005... While the CDO market continues to roar along, investors and managers alike are trying to deal with a tight spread environment. Existing CDOs are particularly challenged, noted panelists at last week's ASF 2005 Conference. "CDO managers are...

They're baaaack - market value CDOs, that is.(Brief Article)
January 31, 2005... Market-value CDOs have been creeping their way back into vogue over the past year and a half, and the rebound experienced in 2004 could signal an emerging trend if market conditions remain stable, according to Standard & Poor's. S&P attributes...

Blizzard can't stop ASF 2005 conference.
January 31, 2005... PHOENIX - Last week's industry conference hosted by the American Securitization Forum proved to be anything but the "usual" conference, as Northeast-based members battled a blizzard to attend. Such was the draw of ASF 2005, which included...

Regulatory drafts expected in 2nd half, early reviews heard.
January 31, 2005... PHOENIX - After attending the recent January Financial Accoun-ting Standards Board meeting, David Thrope, partner at Ernst & Young, discussed changes to securitization accounting at last week's ASF 2005 conference. In all, it appears that...

Mortgages finally resist higher prices.
January 31, 2005... Mortgages struggled early last week on the lofty price levels and increased concern of 5.5s breaching $102. The week saw better selling from a variety of accounts including relative value, fast money and overseas accounts. In addition,...

Credit implications of innovative mortgage products examined.
January 31, 2005... With the proliferation of non-traditional products in the mortgage market, analysts are starting to look at the credit implications of such growth. In a recent report, UBS analyzed the layered risk of these creative mortgages, including...

As expected, Freddie Mac's retained portfolio decreases.
January 31, 2005... Last week, Freddie Mac released its December monthly volume summary and as expected, the GSE reported a drop in its retained portfolio as well as a modest increase in its guaranty business. Analysts believe that Freddie Mac is well positioned...

Getting on the legal train: Europe's securitization evolution.
January 31, 2005... The legal evolution of securitization laws among European countries has provided a much-needed platform for structural innovation, as well as bridging the gap of jurisdictional nuances, bringing domestic laws more in line with each other. ...

Rate hikes have little effect on credit card performance.
January 31, 2005... European consumers may be feeling the stress that comes with interest rate hikes, but at the moment, it has not translated into any immediate effect on the performance of credit card securitization portfolios. In a seminar on the sector held...

SCIP 2 faces payment shortfall, again.(Societa Cartolarizzazione Immobili Pubblici)
January 31, 2005... Italian securitization SCIP 2 has become synonymous with struggle. Last week, headlines heralded another round of shortcomings in the transaction's payment schedule that could trigger a ratings downgrade on the notes (see ASR 11/1/04). ...