ABS

Today, after nine months of intense and sometimes-frantic preparation, credit card issuers must be in compliance with most provisions of a law that fundamentally changed some industry practices.

In a letter submitted to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) today, the American Securitization Forum (ASF) laid out significant concerns regarding the government agency’s proposed new rules on safe harbor for securitizations.

Information services company Markit has launched a new loan index and has acquired Storm Networks, which operates a syndicated loan operations platform for the settlement of par and distressed loan trades in the U.S.

American Honda Finance Corp. yesterday priced its auto ABS that was upsized to $1.4 from just over a billion. The non-Term ABS Loan Facility-eligible deal is lead managed by Deutsche Bank Securities and RBS Securities.

The delivery of certain coupons within the TBA MBS market were disrupted (or failed) in the wake of massive loan buyout plans unveiled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last week.

The Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) nearly forgotten Hope for Homeowners program may get a jump-start now that Joel Harrison of Banker's Portfolio has lined up an investor willing to make a multibillion-dollar bet on underwater mortgages.

Standard & Poor’s will lower its credit ratings on all 'AAA' rated Greek securitization tranches to 'AA' based on its view of increased Greek country risk.

HSBC and JPMorgan launched and priced its £2.9 billion ($4.48 billion) Silk Road Finance, a U.K. RMBS backed by prime loans originated by the Co-operative Bank.

David Shulman, the former head of municipal securities at UBS, has agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle allegations he dumped his personal holdings of student loan auction-rate securities (ARS) after acquiring inside information.

More than two years after slashing the discount rate to make sure banks had access to liquidity, the Federal Reserve Board said it will begin charging more for discount window loans beginning Friday.

The delinquency rate on all residential loans fell slightly in the fourth quarter to 9.47% while "seriously delinquent" mortgages (90 days or more past due) continued to rise, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fitch Ratings plans to add the symbol 'sf' to its structured finance ratings globally.

Karen Weaver, former global head of securitization research at Deutsche Bank Securities, officially retired last week after two years of doing part time work with the bank.

American Honda Finance Corp. is in the market with an over $1 billion auto ABS. The non-Term ABS Loan Facility-eligible deal is lead managed by Deutsche Bank Securities and RBS Securities.

There is talk in the market that an El Salvadoran credit union is working on a small cross-border deal backed by remittances.

Improvements in European CRE market sentiment in the 2H09 has been dramatic but can’t be sustained given the dynamic unfolding in the CMBS market, Henderson Global Investors analysts said.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) announced yesterday that for February 2010 $1.255 billion was requested in loans to buy legacy CMBS under the Term Asset Backed Loan Facility or TALF.

Trade receivables have re-emerged as a favored asset class among European securitization market players and are likely to remain in demand as the global securitization market recovers, a report from the law firm Dechert said.

As the Federal Reserve ends its purchases of MBS, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could become buyers if private investors don't return to the market, a Freddie executive said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, once fierce rivals for mortgage lenders' business, have been forced into a kinship of sorts under federal conservatorship.