ABS

Mark Engelhardt has joined Experian Capital Markets as senior director of business development and sales.

DBRS is requesting comments on the proposed rating methodology for U.S. asset-backed transactions (ABS) backed by wholesale auto loans.

Fitch Ratings revised its rating criteria for counterparty risk in structured finance transactions.

The Federal Bank of New York said on its website that investors requested $2.1 billion in loans in the October round of its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

The International Society of Life Settlement Professionals (ISLSP) has convened a group of industry experts to offer insight into life settlement securitization and commentary on recent congressional hearings.

Jersey Finance has officially launched its office in Hong Kong today to support the promotion of Jersey as an international finance centre in the Asia Pacific region.

MF Global Ltd. has hired James F. O'Sullivan as chief economist.

The roughly $3.3 billion San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System (SDCERS) will seek out global fixed-income managers to possibly replace London, U.K.- based Rogge Global Partners.

Newton, Mass.-based investment manager Hudson Capital Partners has hired Elijah Kaplan, formerly a vice president at Marathon Asset Management, to act as vice president of its capital markets group.

It is unlikely that the U.K. Government will extend its Asset-Backed Securities Guarantee Scheme, primarily as structured finance issuers have not used the scheme to date, said Fitch Ratings.

Mortgage application activity declined in the week ending October 16 in response to slightly higher mortgage rates. Also influencing the results were an adjustment for the Columbus Day holiday. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the seasonally adjusted Refi Index dropped 16.8% to around 2807, while the Purchase Index was down 7.6% to about 268.

A coalition of nearly 25 non-bank investors in student-loan backed auction rate securities released a whitepaper regarding a potential, immediate economic stimulus from a solution to the illiquid Student Loan-Backed Auction Rate Securities (SLARS) market.

Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed the ratings on the majority of tranches in its review of 78 fixed-rate U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities transactions from 2006-2008.

For the past few months, the CLO market has been quietly improving, with prices and performance tests looking up. However, the serenity ended late last week, when Texas Pacific Group said it would try to by assets in several collateralized vehicles for pennies on the dollar.

Fitch Ratings said today that deteriorating macro-economic conditions in Spain are continuing weigh on the performance of structured finance assets across different sectors.

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) describes how little noticed incentives prompt banks to deny relief to homeowners, which is why have several recent programs designed to encourage loan modifications have failed to slow America’s still-worsening home mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Rite Aid announced plans yesterday to offer $250 million in senior secured notes saw its shares fall 1.9 percent to $1.55.

According to market reports, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) plans to add American Mortgage Consultants (AMC) to the list of firms that will provide third party due diligence reviews of U.S. residential mortgage-backed securitizations (RMBS).

Jules Kroll, the founder of global intelligence and security firm Kroll Inc, is reportedly planning to launch a credit rating agency.

CIT Group amended its restructuring plan in order to gain support from bondholders, the troubled lender announced late Friday. The changes include increased equity shares for bondholders and a shortening of maturities for all new junior debt.