Portfolio manager Anatoly Burman will leave his position at AIG to head a new structured finance group at registered investment advisor Aladdin Capital Management. Taking over Burman's responsibilities is Michael Rieger. Burman, who had been at AIG for six years, will purchase structured finance product and eventually issue ABS-backed CDOs for Aladdin (see related story, p. 4).
Standard & Poor's has tapped Managing Director Richard Gugliada to head a new global analytics team the rating agency is creating. Managing Director Patrice Jordan will assume Gugliada's responsibilities as head of the CDO group, encompassing derivatives and market value ratings as well as CDOs. Rosario Buendia will take over Jordan's duties as head of ABS, MBS and new assets, within the structured finance group.
Zain Abdullah has been appointed head of structured credit for Calyon Americas in New York. Abdullah will report locally to Jacques Beyssade, head of Calyon's credit markets, and globally to Loic Fery, global head of structured credit & CDO structuring. Abdullah joined Calyon two years ago from JPMorgan Securities, where he worked successively in mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and CDOs, both in New York and London.
Peter Humphreys has joined law firm McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in the firm's New York office. Humphries reports to Peter Sacripanti, partner-in-charge of the New York office. Humphreys joins from Dewey Ballantine. Humphreys has served as counsel on a wide range of securitizations including financings of credit card receivables, franchise loans, home equity loans, commercial mortgages, residential mortgages, auto loans, utility receivables and stranded costs, trade receivables, health care receivables, bank loans, and equipment and operating leases, according to the firm.
Roger Chari was recently promoted to partner at law firm Hahn & Hessen. A member of the law firm for two years, Chari's practice is focused on the asset-based finance area, representing both lenders and underwriters as well as borrowers and issuers. Chari is a graduate of the Harvard Law School, and he recently expanded his practice to include bankruptcy-related financings, both for debtor-in-possession and exit lenders.
Deloitte & Touche LLP is seeking to add a senior programmer to its CDO Suite development team, as well as several business analysts to its securitization consulting and technology team. Developer candidates should have six-plus years of experience with MS SQL 7/2000 and ASP, plus have a background in fixed-income markets. Business analyst candidates should have a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, and one to three years experience in the financial services industry. Interested candidates should contact Mark Scherer at mscherer@deloitte.com, or 212-436-2842.
Standard & Poor's recently found that only 0.01% of the U.S. residential mortgage loans it rated in 2004 were considered high cost, adding that it was apparent that the capital markets are not financing the origination of such mortgages. Since the anti-predatory lending laws that have become effective in the past two years usually target high-cost loans, it would seem that such legislation has minimized the origination of these mortgages. The rating agency, however, did note that it is unable to determine if these loans are being originated and not being included in securitizations.
Citing Fannie Mae's accounting errors, among other things, Standard & Poor's last week cut the GSE's corporate governance score to CGS-7 from CGS-9. S&P added that this does not impact Fannie's credit rating. The rating agency also cited late regulatory filings and concerns about its board's oversight ability as reasons for the reduction. The maximum score is CGS-10.
In recent remarks, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said that the Bush administration does not seem inclined to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act expiring December 31, 2005. By June 30, and possibly earlier, the U.S. Treasury will recommend that Congress either extend, modify or simply allow the act to expire. In a report, Merrill Lynch said the act offers federal backstop reinsurance for losses incurred over a deductible resulting from a certified terrorist act. Meanwhile, in contrast to Snow, both the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Michael Oxley and the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Richard Shelby stated that the extension of the act would be a top priority of their respective committees.
Second-lien mortgage originations in the Philadelphia area are up, as Eagles fans are cashing out on their home equity to fund trips to Super Bowl XXXIX, the Associated Press reported last week. In the report, low-interest second liens and HELOCs are viewed by area residents as a cheaper alternative to credit card borrowing.
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