Consumer ABS

Federal regulators took another step Wednesday toward lessening banks' reliance on credit ratings by proposing three methods for assessing risk on firms' trading books.

U.S. structured finance is expected to be stable from a credit and ratings standpoint, although macro uncertainties can test collateral performance for some asset classes, Fitch Ratings said in its 2012 outlook report.

European ABS issuance sold to investors should at most grow only modestly next year, Standard & Poor's said.

ABS related to autos, including deals backed by floorplans and leases, is likely to rise about 6% in volume during 2012, to $80 billion, Standard & Poor's said today. The figure for 2011 through Dec. 1 is $69 billion, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

Volkswagen is readying its first auto loan ABS backed by Japanese loans from its Driver program, according to a Reuters report.

Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS) is in the market with CPS Auto Receivables Trust 2011-C worth $119 million.

Navigating the non-agency RMBS market is not an easy task given that the market has seen little primary activity in 2011 and lots of volatility on housing stats.

DBRS has created the position of chief credit officer, Canadian structured finance and appointed Jerry Marriott to this role as of Dec. 1.

Confidence surveys suggest consumer borrowing might be stabilizing as the economy shows signs of recovery, but it remains unlikely to increase in the short run, according to a Moody's Analytics conference call on the outlook for consumer finance.

Toronto-Dominion Bank made an extra payout of $70 million to the previous owners of Chrysler Financial last quarter under an agreement to raise the price of the deal if the auto lender's assets perform better than expected.