Last week, as market participants returned full-force after the ABS East conference, the primary market generated a healthy $17 billion of new issuance. The board was populated with a fair mix of deals, including a stranded cost deal, in the robust week, even as the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and a new hurricane loomed.
Heading into the week, the prevailing sentiment was that the FOMC would take a break from its measured pace of increases to the fed-funds rate in order to give the economy a breather after Hurricane Katrina. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan quashed speculation by raising rates for the eleventh consecutive time by one-quarter point to 3.75%. Also, as the week wore on, Hurricane Rita grew in intensity to a Level 5 storm, and as many on the Texas Gulf coast evacuated, many in the ABS market readied to calculate the impact of the hurricane, even as the impact of Katrina remained far from clear.
The stranded cost deal was a $115 million private transaction from Greensburg, Pa.-based West Penn Power Co. The single-tranche, 4.24-year deal, led by Credit Suisse First Boston, priced at 10 basis points over swaps - one basis point tight to guidance.
Student Loan Corp. was in the market with a $1 billion FFELP student loan deal via Citigroup Global Markets as sole lead. The deal priced flat or tight to guidance on all five tranches. The deal priced its three-year tranche flat to three-month Libor, and the seven-year tranche at eight basis points over three-month Libor.
The largest auto deal to price was a $1.6 billion deal from Ford Motor Credit led by HSBC Securities, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Securities. The one-year tranche of the deal priced flat to guidance at five basis points over EDSF, and the two-year tranche priced at two basis points over EDSF, one basis point tight to guidance. The three-year tranche of the deal priced at six basis points over swaps, one basis point inside of price guidance.
Long Beach Acceptance Corp. also priced a $350 million non-prime deal led by RBS Greenwich Capital. The money-market tranche of the deal priced flat to guidance at one basis point over swaps, and the one-year tranche priced at seven basis points over swaps, on the wide rim of guidance in the six to seven basis point range over swaps.
Two credit card deals made it to pricing by press time last week, one was a $1.5 billion deal from Citibank, N.A. The four-year single-tranche deal priced at one basis point over three-month Libor, flat to guidance. MBNA America Bank also had a $1 bllion deal in the market. The three-year deal was led by Banc of America Securities and Citigroup, and priced at three basis points through swaps, flat to guidance.
The usual spate of real estate deals priced last week, the largest a $2.5 billion Australian RMBS deal from Superannuation Members Home Loan Programme. The deal was led by Deutsche Bank Securities and SG Corporate & Investment Banking and had a $950 million U.S. dollar-denominated tranche senior. The U.S. tranche priced at seven basis points over three-month Libor, flat to guidance.
Countrywide Home Loans had a $1.77 billion series 2005-G HELOC deal in the market with two, two-year tranches, one priced flat to guidance at 23 basis points over one-month Libor. AmeriQuest Mortgage brought a $1.4 billion home equity deal to market, led by Barclays Capital and CSFB. The 2.5-year tranche priced at 26 basis points over one-month Libor, while the one-year tranche priced at 11 basis points over one-month Libor, both flat to guidance.
GE Capital Corp. unit WMC Mortgage priced a $989 million home equity deal led by Morgan Stanley. The one-year tranche of the deal priced at 12 basis points, while the three-year tranche priced at 24 basis points over one-month Libor and the 6.54-year tranche priced at 36 basis points over one-month Libor. Wachovia Bank, N.A. was in the market with a $695 million home equity deal, with the one-year tranche pricing at 11 basis points over one-month Libor and the two-year tranche pricing at 18 basis points over one-month Libor.
IndyMac Mortgage was in the market with a $686 million home-equity deal led by UBS Securities. The one-year tranche priced at 11 basis points over one-month Libor, while the three-year tranche priced at 27 basis points over one-month Libor. GMAC-RFC priced a $661 million deal led by RBS Greenwich with a three-year tranche that cleared at 29 basis points over one-month Libor. GMAC-RFC was also in the market with a $336 million high LTV RAMP deal led by Bear Stearns. The one-year tranche of the deal priced at 13 basis points over one-month Libor, while the three-year class priced a 27 basis points over one-month Libor and the six-year at 40 basis points over one-month Libor.
Only two deals were left on the table in this week's ABS primary market smorgasbord. Deutsche Bank was in the middle of marketing a $1.5 billion ACE Securities series 2005-HE6 home equity deal, the two-year tranche of which was being talked in the 18 basis point area over one-month Libor, while the three-year tranche was being talked in the 25 basis points area over one-month Libor.
The final deal remaining in the market as of press time was a $964 million HELOC deal from GMAC Mortgage led by Bear Stearns. The 1.5-year tranche of the deal was talked in the seven basis point area over one-month Libor, the three-year tranche was offered at 11 basis points over one-month Libor and the five-year tranche at 21 basis points over one-month Libor.
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