The U.S. ABS primary market remained slow last week, as the market retuned from Thanksgiving to make the final stretch in what is already a record-breaking year for supply. Although the ball took a couple days to get rolling again, by mid-week there was over $8 billion marketing, with nearly $7 billion having priced.
Home equity issuance totaled $4 billion, outpacing competing sectors, as the credit-card sector was void of action and autos saw just one offering. The largest deal last week came out of Sallie Mae, which superstitiously named its thirteenth FFELP loan offering of the year series 2003-14. The move was credited to an undisclosed underwriter in the selling group.
The $2.3 billion series 2003-14 transaction, led by JPMorgan Securities and Morgan Stanley, continued the issuers' penchant for offering multi-currency deals. One-year floating-rate senior notes priced at two basis points over three-month Libor, with five-year paper coming in at six basis points over Libor - both at the wide end, but within price guidance. Seven-year paper cleared at 17 basis points over three-month Libor and long-dated 13.6-year A6 notes priced with a 30 basis point coupon over Libor.
In mortgage ABS, already 44% ahead of last year's pace by Banc One Capital Markets' count, AmeriQuest Mortgage, GMAC-RFC and Countrywide Home Loans made up the bulk of the supply. First Franklin and Australian lender Liberty Property plc rounded out the sector.
AmeriQuest, which braved to name its deal series 2003-13, sold $1.13 billion of fixed- and floating-rate notes, of which $813.9 million was not offered, via Banc of America Securities and Merrill Lynch. Of the publicly offered classes, the $146 million three-year AV1 senior notes priced at 36 basis points over one-month Libor. Three-year AF3 and five-year AF4 fixed-rate notes priced to yield 74 and 133 basis points over swaps, respectively.
GMAC-RFC RAMP 2003-RZ5, via BofA and Bear Stearns, priced $875 million of high LTV ABS late in the week. Floating-rate AV1 paper, with a 2.5-year average life, priced at 33 basis points over one-month Libor. Three-year fixed-rate notes priced at 73 basis points over swaps, with five-year notes pricing at 120 basis points over.
Late in the week, Countrywide quickly tapped the market with a $395 million floating-rate series 2003-BC6 transaction, of which $258 million was not offered. Two-year 2A senior notes priced at 34 basis points over one-month Libor, with the four-year triple-B minus rated subordinate class pricing with a discount margin of 525 basis points over Libor.
Australia's only non conforming mortgage lender, Liberty Funding, tapped the global market for the first time with a $730 million series 2003-2 deal via Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank Securities to strong demand that led to the deal's upsizing. Liberty's $400 million 1.42-year U.S. tranche priced at 40 basis points over three-month Libor, at the tight end of price guidance, but outside of the traditional Australian MBS issuers.
First Franklin was marketing, but had yet to price as of press time, a $750 million series 2003-FFH2 deal via RBS Greenwich.
Carlisle Leasing International's CLI Leasing issuance vehicle completed refrigeration container lease ABS reported last week in the market via SG Cowan. Following an increase to $500 million, the Ambac-wrapped deal priced its five-year A class at 40 basis points over one-month Libor.
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