CDOs/CLOs

Ambac Financial Group announced late Monday it filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

At a press conference following the European Central Bank's (ECB) rate decision last week, its President Jean-Claude Trichet said that the ECB is looking to create disincentives for banks who refinance exclusively through the bank.

Markit has created the first electronic link between agent banks and lenders so that they can have real-time sharing of comprehensive agent data on syndicated loans.

Independent broker-dealer Braver Stern Securities hired Peter Howard as a managing director and head trader of CDOs, CLOs and esoteric ABS.

Principia Partners recently surveyed over 500 investors, issuers, regulators and other structured finance professionals on the subject of investor due diligence.

Katten Muchin Rosenman hired five structured finance lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf, including five structured finance partners in New York and a financial products tax partner in Washington, D.C.

Landon Parsons joined Moelis & Co. as senior advisor in the firm’s risk advisory group.

Ambac Financial Group, parent of the junk-rated bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp., said in a regulatory filing Monday morning that it may be forced to file for bankruptcy by yearend because it has been unable to raise fresh capital.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) proposal of Oct. 13 to require issuers to review the underlying assets in their ABS should create a much more uniform set of review standards - to the benefit of investors. However, it could significantly alter, perhaps to the ABS market's detriment, how the reviews are performed.

The so-called foreclosure scandal has grabbed headlines over the past month. ASR's November issue looks beyond the mainstream coverage to its effect on bondholders.