Sallie Mae closed a new, $6.8 billion credit facility that will allow it to exit the Straight A funding program ahead of schedule.

Louisiana Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp. trustees gave swift approval Tuesday to the controversial refinancing of up to $720 million of outstanding tobacco settlement revenue bonds.

Bank of America is preparing to jump into the consumer ABS issuance frenzy with a new deal from its rarely used Bank of America Auto Trust.

Iconix Brand Group is planning to issue a securitization of flows from brand licensing for $250 million, the company said in a release.

The Structured Finance Industry Group has hired Falcon Capital Advisors as well as a consultancy run by Kristi Leo to help it attract new members and pursue its legislative agenda.

Fitch, in a press release today, stated that while the recovering U.S. housing market and macro stability are bolstering remnant U.S. RMBS performance lately, persistent challenges remain for the sector to overcome. Fitch said that because pre-crisis RMBS transactions are still facing challenges, rating improvement will remain limited in the near term and it only expects future upgrades to come to RMBS classes with relatively short remaining lives within sequential payment priority transactions.

The Massachusetts Education Financing Authority (MEFA, or the authority) is offering $304.72 million of its Education Loan Revenue Issue K bonds. The fixed-rate Series 2013 is the first issuance under the Issue K indenture, a master trust.

PFS Financing Corp plans to issue a $282 million securitization backed by insurance premium finance loans, which are usually installment loans that have less-than-one-year duration.

California Republic Bank staged a return to the securitization market with its $238 million California Republic Auto Receivables Trust 2013-1.

Sallie Mae plans to issue SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2013-3, its third student loan-backed securitization of the year, totaling $1.246 billion.

Ford Motor Credit Co. plans to issue $1.38 billion of notes over two series issued from its floorplan master owner trust, according to Fitch Ratings.

Standard & Poor’s has joined the chorus warning of deeper risks in conduit CMBS issued this year compared with 2012-and-earlier vintages.