Finance

Utility tariff securitizations - which allow former monopolies to recover upfront their investments in equipment, deferred power procurement or the cost of storm damage - have not always been controversial.

A recent story in ASR's sister publication, National Mortgage News, reported that a number of conduits formed to securitize Jumbo-balance loans using private-label securitizations have recently been closed. This is not surprising, considering the continued difficulties the non-agency MBS market faces. Lenders' inability to securitize loans has profound implications for the mortgage and housing markets, and will make the GSEs increasingly indispensable to housing finance.

Deals by first-time issuers of subprime ABS are wildly oversubscribed, the credit quality of the underlying assets is deteriorating, profit-hungry investment firms are buying stakes in issuers, and financing costs look to hold at record lows for the indefinite future.

Subprime ABS is making a comeback, mostly through auto deals. Some issuers are even doing these deals for the first time.

In the ASR Scorecards database's preliminary public lead manager rankings for 1Q12, Citigroup Global Markets took the No. 1 spot with a 12.6% market share and $4.8 billion sold. Citi rose three spots from 1Q11 with a 14.7% market share and $2.07 billion sold. ASR's 1Q12 numbers are as of March 26 while its 1Q11 are as March 31, 2011.

Changes made late last year to the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP 2.0, are finally starting to affect prepayment speeds for both conventional MBS and GNMAs, and more recent changes in the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance premium (MIP) are also creating uncertainty about the prepayment outlook.

The European Commission's interpretation of Basel III rules for requiring banks to hold enough liquid assets to meet cash-flow needs for up to 30 days initially penalized RMBS.

The latest wave of proposed European regulations on rating agencies, known as CRA3, contains a rule that has unsettled players from every corner of the financial market: enforced ratings rotation.

It's rare that a bank gets paid to be an acquirer.

QE3 got a shot in the arm as the week started with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech about recent labor market developments.

Manager Activity: Autos Book Runner Amount (US$ Mil) Rank Mkt.

Experian Information Solutions' research indicates that, while the credit quality of auto loans may be slipping, it remains high enough to ensure the strong performance of the 2011 and 2012 vintages of securities backed by such loans.

A federal judge rejected an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to compel Wells Fargo & Co. to comply with an administrative subpoena, ordering the agency and the bank to meet to resolve their dispute over documents related to the agency's investigation of nearly $60 billion of RMBS.

Former head of securitized products research at Credit Suisse Dale Westhoff will be shifting his responsibilities at the firm.

The enhancement levels for the new Credit Suisse prime RMBS deal called CSFB Mortgage Securities 2012-CIM1 are not enough to support a triple-A rating, Fitch Ratings said today.

At least two more commercial note/REO auctions are scheduled for the beginning of April, according to Barclays Capital CMBS Weekly Strategy Report published today.

Investors ramped up their purchases of single-family homes last year to a level not seen since 2007 — and only half of those buyers financed the purchase. Almost half (49%) paid cash, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

A federal magistrate has ordered Space Coast Credit Union to a non-binding mediation session with lawyers from five Wall Street banks and two rating agencies regarding the credit union’s $100-million claim related to a failed investment the banks sold Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, a failed Miami credit union acquired by Space Coast in 2009.

Banc of Manhattan Capital, Woodland Hills, Calif., is taking bids on a $26 million pool of reperforming whole loans, servicing released.