With the macroeconomic uncertainty and headline risk still driving the securitization markets as 2012 comes to an end, it is no wonder that investors are looking for assurance before they sail through the uncharted waters of structured investments.

As the European sovereign crisis and uncertainty in the U.S. housing market play havoc with the prices of securitizable assets, appraising risk seems as easy for investors as threading a needle while riding a rollercoaster.

Four months after downgrading U.S. Treasury bonds, Standard & Poor's has lowered or affirmed fewer than half of the highest-rated ABS guaranteed by the now-defunct Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

U.K. banks looking to offload large portfolios of commercial real estate (CRE) loans are offering buyers financing options to make sales more attractive.

To achieve a recovery in both the housing sector and the overall economy, mortgage banks need insight into the misconceptions on how mortgage delinquency and economic stress have impacted borrower behavior. This includes insight into what a "strategic default" is.

In November, Freddie Mac kicked off its new plan to purchase most of its 120-days-or-more-delinquent mortgage loans from the company's related fixed-rate and ARM Mortgage Participation Certificate (PC) securities.

Credit ratings have historically played a relatively small role in the European leveraged loan market, which through the 1990s was comprised of privately held companies borrowing almost exclusively from banks.

U.S. dollar funding is gaining traction among U.K. issuers of RMBS and credit card ABS.

Russian middle-tier bank Vozrozhdenie is in the local market with a ruble-denominated RMBS, the first time the issuer has tapped this market. Rated 'Ba3' by Moody's Investors Service, the bank itself is not controlled by the government, making it an anomaly in the current environment.

Fannie Mae acquired $58.4 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in October, its best purchase month since January and a sign that low rates are starting to spur new activity in the primary market.

Standard & Poor's changed some of its ratings for National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. (NPFG), the municipal bond insuring subsidiary of MBIA.

Petroplus Holdings AG has implemented a new receivables securitization program, which will provide up to $200 million through the sale of the company’s U.K. receivables.