Finance

Covered bond issuance has been strong over the past five trading days on the back of banks looking to take advantage of the final days of the European Central Bank's (ECB) purchase program. The program ends in the middle of next week.

Whole business securitizations (WBS) backed by restaurant franchise payments have shown stable performance despite recent difficulties in the industry, according to Moody’s Investors Services in a recent report.

Santander will purchase $3.2 billion of CitiFinancial Auto’s auto loan portfolios, the firm announced today.

The consumer credit card charge-off rate declined for the second consecutive month in May, increasing the likelihood that they soon will dip below their year-ago levels, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Tuesday.

Renault will issue its first public sale of bonds backed by German auto loans to raise €873 million ($1 billion), according to a Bloomberg report.

Fannie Mae has made policy changes that will penalize borrowers opting to strategically default. The changes are designed to encourage borrowers to work with their servicers and pursue alternatives to foreclosure.

BNY Mellon has green-lighted a new initiative to ease confusion related to futures and derivatives trades for the global asset manager and securities services firm’s institutional client base.

Cowen Group will launch a credit fixed-income group to be headed by Kevin Reynolds. It has also hired Leonard Sheer as managing director, the firm announced today.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan modifications and refinancings showed substantial increases in 1Q10, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Foreclosure Prevention & Refinance report.

Markit will now include commodities in the range of instruments covered by its portfolio valuations service, the firm announced today.

Independent broker-dealer Braver Stern Securities hired investment strategist Scott Buchta as a managing director and the head of investment strategy.

Think of the investors. That's what everyone in the debate over fair-value accounting says, regardless of which side they're on.

Auto-backed deals by Ally Bank and Santander Consumer U.S.A. priced on Friday.

A major decline in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) payment amount this year is placing downgrade pressure on some U.S. tobacco settlement ABS bonds, according to Fitch Ratings.

Fitch Ratings has updated its criteria for rating emerging market securitizations, focusing on the relevance of sovereign ratings on different transactions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Thomas Priore and three of his affiliated firms with fraudulently managing MBS as the housing market was starting to crash in 2007.

Amherst Securities Group named John Caputo as its primary CMBS trader, effective June 21.

Dechert has named Thomas Vartanian, David Ansell, and Robert Ledig as partners in its Washington, D.C. office.

Ambac Financial Group announced Thursday that it entered into a pair of debt-for-equity exchanges June 11, meaning that it purchased back its own debt by offering debt-holders a stake in the company.

Investors believe financing and buyer interest in "second-tier" commercial real estate markets remains limited, according to a new survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers.