ABS

Proposed bank capital rules are likely to both benefit and crimp the securitization market, potentially making highly rated transactions less attractive while having uneven effects on different asset classes.

As the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers imposing further regulations on money market funds, those close to the $2.6 trillion industry say the revisions are unnecessary, could threaten the very existence of the 40-year-old business and would limit access to a vital source of funding for state and local governments.

Highland Capital Management will stay on as the manager of a $950 million collateralized loan obligation after all.

At last week’s American Securitization Forum Sunset Seminar, panelists discussed how the proposed Franken amendment creates unintended consequences in applying credit ratings.

WASHINGTON — Supporters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are dismissing a new lawsuit that seeks to abolish the agency as a political stunt, and even bank industry insiders who would like the case to succeed are privately calling it an uphill battle.

It's tempting to ignore Moody's bank downgrades, which are affecting the ABCP market (see story). They were late, heavily broadcast in advance and came from an organization with a lot to prove after missing key elements of the credit crisis.

The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) stated that it welcomed yesterday’s announcement by an investment banking group that these institutions are committed to helping ensure the successful launch of the ECBC Covered Bond Label.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded several key U.S. banks late Thursday, impacting the ABCP operations of these banks.

The limits on a national bank or thrift's exposure to a single borrower will now also include counterparties in derivatives transactions, according to an interim final rule released Wednesday.

An upcoming sukuk backed by properties in the Gulf region is the first RMBS from the region since 2007, according to a source close to the deal.

Given the economic uncertainty in Greece, many investors were interested in the results of the Greek election last weekend that resulted in New Democracy (ND) leader Antonio Samaras winning.

3i Debt Management has hired former Credit Suisse CLO chief Andrew Bellis to head up the firm’s global growth effort, the company said.

The credit scoring system is broken, plain and simple.

Auto and credit card securitizations are filling the pipeline this week. There is also a timeshare deal from Marriot Vacations Worldwide Corp. (MVW).

Players in the asset-backed commercial paper market have learned their lessons from the financial crisis and are ready to apply them in the wake of bank downgrades by Moody's Investors Service.

Structured finance investors would prefer to rely on fewer sources of pricing for tracking deals, according to 107 investors in the industry surveyed by Principia Partners.

The European DataWarehouse came in for some criticism at Information Management Network’s and Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s Global ABS 2012 conference, which is being held in Brussels this week.

Expectations for an effort to rebrand Europe’s securitization industry, making it more acceptable to regulators and investors, are decidedly mixed.

Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Ill., has finally closed on its purchase of LendingTree Loans, also known as Home Loan Center, from Charlotte, N.C.-based Tree.com for a total purchase price of $46 million. An additional $10 million of the purchase price is due on the first anniversary of the purchase, subject to certain conditions.

Global ABS 2011 – Today kicks off Information Management Network’s (IMN) Global ABS 2012 in Brussels. The conference will be held until Thursday, June 14.