ABS

Moody's Investors Service today placed on review for downgrade the ratings of various covered bonds issued by Austrian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French and German banks.

Fitch Ratings released a report yesterday about assessing the risk of container ABS, which is a cyclical asset class.

Fitch Ratings today released a presale on the $282 million Global Tower Partners (GTP) series 2012-1 and 2012-2.

Results of a recently-closed tender offer for structured bonds by Spain’s Catalunya Banc indicate that investors’ attachment to this paper is stronger than anticipated, at least at the prices offered by the issuer, according to a note by Barclays Capital analyst Dipesh Mehta.

Liz Frederick has been named the new managing director of Kane USA, a global provider of specialist insurance management services.

FICO scores cover a much wider demographic than proprietary models used by ABS issuers to predict collateral performance, according to FICO Senior Director Adem Yilmaz.

Litigation consulting firm Analysis Group has hired four new affiliates to the firm, including fixed-income expert John Richard.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) submitted comments to Federal regulators yesterday regarding the proposed Volcker rule provisions on ABS and insurance-linked securities (ILS). The Volcker Rule was added by Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Center Parcs group in the U.K. plans to issue a ₤1.020 billion ($1.6 billion) hybrid transaction that blends corporate securitization of the operating business with subordinated high-yield issuance.

The International Finance Corp. expects to fund a landmark $65 million deal with Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) in early March, said an official at the multilateral.

Two new covered bonds from peripheral Eurozone issuers priced last week. The Italian Lender, Intesa San Paolo issued a €1.5 billion ($1.96 billion), 1.5-year unsecured bond at 295 basis points over mid swaps.

Fitch Ratings has released its outlook on utility tariff securitizations. The rating agency stated that it expects strong asset performance from the sector.

Legg Mason Global Asset Management has launched Permal Hedge Strategies Fund a fixed income focused multi-manager, multi-strategy fund of hedge funds.

As if new capital requirements penalizing risky asset-backeds weren't enough, banks may soon have to pay higher deposit insurance assessment fees relative to the riskiness of the ABS they hold on their books. This further challenges their participation in the securitization market.

The Maiden Lane and Sequoia transactions may not herald the return of a vibrant RMBS market anytime soon, but they do indicate significant demand for bonds at nearly opposite ends of the RMBS market.

Although American Securitization Forum (ASF) conferences are usually more U.S.-centric, this year's ASF 2012 had more of a global focus.

There were 5,119 registrants at ASF 2012 - an impressive show of strength considering the issuance tally for certain market segments. But let's not forget: there've been only four Jumbo RMBS in the last three years.

In January, Fitch Ratings put out a report that highlighted ratings volatility in securitizations that are retained by European originators, primarily to use as collateral for funding with the European Central Bank (ECB).

Hogan Lovells has expanded its New York finance practice by adding Peter Humphreys and Evan Koster.