Sam Pilcer recently started as a managing director in the conduit group at Credit Lyonnais. On Aug. 1, Pilcer left his position as an MD in the asset-backed CP group at Moody's Investor Service, where he had worked for more than 10 years (see ASR 7/28/03). In his new position, he reports to the company's U.S. securitization chief David Fink.
Research veteran Inna Koren has joined Barclays as a director in the ABS research group. In her new position, she will focus on mortgage-related ABS sectors, reporting to Mark Pibl, head of ABS and investment-grade research. Koren had worked in the mortgage research group at Wachovia Securities since 2001. Prior to her stint at Wachovia, she worked at Prudential Securities for 11 years.
Terence Begley has joined PNC Capital Markets as a managing director and head of its ABS group. Begley had previously worked as a managing director at Wachovia Securities, where he ran the ABCP conduit group.
Former Ernst & Young accountant Thomas Trauger was arrested last Thursday and charged with federal criminal obstruction in relation to his role in the blowup of NextCard Inc., according to published reports. This was one of the first arrests connected with alleged violations of the new Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform laws, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2003. Additionally, Oliver Flanagan, a former senior manager at E&Y, pled guilty to one count of obstructing the examination of a financial institution.
Banc One Capital Markets is close to completing its loan and pool level prepayment and performance database of mortgage-ABS issuer portfolios. Currently on track for an October release is the loan level data, which will be released to the issuers that contributed data. The pool level data will then be released to BOCM's investor clients in December. With the most recent addition, New Century Financial, the database includes data on the portfolios of AmeriQuest Mortgage, Bank One (HELOC), Conseco Finance, Impac Mortgage (hybrid ARM), Irwin Financial (HELOC), Option One Mortgage, GMAC-RFC (RALI shelf), GMAC Mortgage (HELOC) and Saxon Mortgage.
The Mortgage Bankers Associ- ation of America testified last week before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee that it favored transferring regulatory oversight authority to the Department of the Treasury. "The MBA supports that Treasury should have approval authority for new GSE programs and activities to ensure they are consistent with prudent financial management and sound business operations," said John A. Courson, MBA chairman.
MBIA Inc. raised more than $330,000 for the Westchester ARC and Westchester-Putnam Special Olympics with its annual MBIA Golf and Tennis Invitational. Celebrities included former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, former New York Yankee pitcher Jimmy Key and NFL official Tony Veteri.
Freddie Mac announced last week that it is delaying its earnings restatement until November and added that its restated earnings could be greater than anticipated. "We regret the need to extend our restatement deadline of September 30, but our No. 1 priority has been - and continues to be - getting our financial statements right," Chief Financial Officer Martin Baumann said. The delay was blamed on incomplete computer-system changes needed to properly assess asset transfers and securitizations, according to reports.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York said last Wednesday that it sold ABS whose poor performance resulted in its cancellation of a dividend payment in 3Q.
The "incremental credit risk issues" that the FHLB-New York faced arose from ABS backed by manufactured housing loans, the FHLB Office of Finance said in a statement. The FHLB-New York said it was taking a $183 million loss on the sale of the securities.
Mortgage prepayment expert Andrew Davidson just came out with a book called Securitization: Structuring and Investment Analysis. The book is being published and distributed by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. In the book, the president of Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. presents a detailed explanation of how financial instruments can be securitized, structured, analyzed and valued. Davidson co-wrote the book with Ohio State University professor of finance Anthony Sanders; Lan-Ling Wolff, structured finance head of Fredell & Co. in London; and Andrew Davidson & Co. Senior Consultant Anne Ching.
Following a review of Jumbo MBS transactions it has rated, Moody's Investors Service upgraded 233 classes of 60 Jumbo MBS from the 2001 and 2002 vintages last week. Driving the strong performance of the primarily subordinated classes was low loss rates and strong prepayments, which have bolstered credit enhancement in the deals. The strong housing market was credited with keeping loss severities low, and high levels of prepayments retired the outstanding loans prior to any credit events that may happen to borrowers within the first four years of a loan.
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