This is the second installment of a series of regular contributions from the Asset Securitization Forum. In this installment, the ASF discusses the formation and activity of its committees, updates the effort to boost membership and discusses the group's new website. The views represented do not necessarily represent those of the individual members of the ASF, ASR or Thomson Financial.
Committee Organization and Activities
All of the standing committees and subcommittees of the ASF have now been formed and have met on at least one occasion. These include the Market Standards and Practices Committee, the Budget and Membership Committee, the Legal, Regulatory, Accounting and Tax Committee, and the Communications and Education Committee.
Each committee has developed an agenda for 2002 that has been reviewed and approved by the ASF's Management and Executive Committees, the principal decision-making and policy-making bodies of the Forum. The 10-person committee has been meeting regularly on a bi-weekly basis since March, with the larger Executive Committee on a quarterly meeting schedule.
The next meetings of each of the Management and Executive Committees will take place during the second week of June.
Membership
The ASF's membership continues to grow, with over 30 organizations active in the U.S. securitization market having joined and another 20 whose membership applications are being processed. Members reflect the diversity of participants in the broader securitization marketplace, including issuers, investors, dealers, legal and accounting firms, rating agencies, financial guarantors, and others.
Also, the ASF's Budget and Membership Subcommittee has organized a membership campaign to reach out to several hundred additional key organizations and contacts in the U.S. securitization market. Particular emphasis is being placed on recruiting both issuers and investors to join the Forum. Letters containing information about the ASF were mailed to these contacts the week of May 27, with follow-up outreach efforts planned shortly thereafter.
Website
Last week, the ASF formally unveiled its official website, located at www.americansecuritization.com. The site provides basic information about the organization and activities of the ASF, descriptions of various standing committees and subcommittees, details on ASF meetings and events, and links to other relevant websites and sources of securitization market information.
A separate "Membership" section both describes membership criteria and various membership levels, and also allows for submission of membership applications on-line. The "Initiatives and Activities" section will be developed and expanded incrementally over time to provide details of substantive ASF projects and initiatives. It is envisioned that the website will become a central vehicle for communicating on a real-time basis with the ASF's membership, and more broadly to policy makers and the public on a wide range of important securitization market issues and related ASF activities.
