Consumer ABS

Recent U.S regulatory changes can further disrupt the European securitization market. The latest source of concern are the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed changes to the disclosure requirements applied to ABS offerings under Rule 144A or Regulation D.

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking has appointed Matt Salvner as head of fixed-income solutions for the Americas, the firm announced today.

FGIC Corp., the holding company of beleaguered bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., announced Wednesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Through its proposals on Regulation AB, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be subjecting privately sold ABS to the disclosure requirements applicable to securities offered in registered public offerings.

Allen & Overy has expanded its U.S. securitization capabilities by naming Ed De Sear as a partner in its international capital group the firm announced today.

The Dodd-Frank financial reform act signed this month by President Obama was, in my reading, very unfriendly to the non-agency MBS market. Taken in its entirety, key provisions of the bill create significant and protracted uncertainty for issuers and investors, further delaying the much-anticipated revival of private-label MBS issuance.

Like many other New Yorkers beaten down by an interminably hot summer, I've been praying for a change in the weather. This isn't so different from what our market's after - a shift of sorts, a new climate that invites activity. Without that, we'll stay stuck.

Once-regular issuers in the "orphaned" ABS market backed by government-guaranteed FFELP loans are now scrambling to reposition their businesses and offering new private loan products. But investors in student loan ABS are unlikely to see a regular deal flow anytime soon.

Even though the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given securitization issuers six months to omit credit ratings from ABS registration statements filed under Regulation AB, the ABS industry still has to work on a long-term solution to the unintended consequences of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Europe has ridden into the summer months in the same state of uncertainty that has set the course for the last 18 months.