Consumer ABS

Frank Byrne was let go last week as UBS' head of structured-products underwriting and origination, 18 months after he was hired to spearhead growth in those areas, according to sources familiar with the situation.

RBS Securities has poached Pat Beranek from Mizuho Securities to be jointly responsible for trading non-mortage ABS with Alan Johannsen, the Stamford, Connecticut-based bank said in a release. Beranek will report to Adam Siegal, co-head of U.S. ABS, MBS and CMBS Trading.

Auto auto deals are filling up the ABS pipeline this week from The Huntington National Bank (HNB), Santander Consumer USA, Ally Bank and AmeriCredit Financial Services.

The Federal Reserve Board's decision to hold public hearings and extend the comment period on Capital One Financial Corp.'s planned acquisition of ING Direct has drawn the ire of House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus.

Discover Financial Services has agreed to purchase $2.5 billion of private student loans from Citigroup, as the lender continues diversifying beyond its main credit card business.

The Financial Stability Board said it plans to focus on five areas where more detailed work is warranted to help gauge the case for further regulatory action.

Volatility in the capital markets has pushed industry participants towards safe-haven assets such as covered bonds.

Having proven their mettle in crisis conditions, covered bonds are gaining popularity outside their traditional enclave of continental Europe. A number of emerging markets are looking into the product, and a few have recently made concrete moves. Turkey, for instance, saw its first covered bond a couple of months ago.

The Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. long-term debt rating was followed a few days later by downgrades of debt issued by government-related entities such as the Federal Home Loan Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), as well as a slew of funds with a majority of their exposures to U.S. Treasurys.

It's been a brutal time for executives in structured finance departments across Wall Street since the 2008 financial crisis.