ABS

Three more investment funds — with combined commitments of at least $1.5 billion — have applied for and received approval from the Treasury Department to participate in the 'Public-Private Investment Program' in regard to buying troubled securities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will have the authority to make rules that could expand the number of credit rating agencies working with the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) under a proposal released by the central bank Monday.

Moody's Investors Service published a special comment today discussing the implications of a possible bankruptcy of the CIT Group Inc. on sixteen ABS transactions where CIT, through its subsidiaries, acts as the servicer, master servicer, administrator, or servicing administrator.

The increased numbers of European banks and other originators making tender offers to buy back their structured finance issues primarily reflect originators taking advantage of opportunities to optimize their funding profiles and capital structure.

The American Securitization Forum (ASF) last weeksubmitted a letter to federal banking regulators.

A sense of relief is percolating through the market of Shariah-compliant bonds, known as sukuks.

The Internal Revenue Service's update on REMIC rules that will now allow for more commercial loan modifications is welcomed by the industry. However, the 80% property valuation test required at the time of the modification could bring punitive consequences.

A massive leap in the values of "toxic" MBS since March - albeit from record lows - may lessen the urgency prompting the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). However, it may also dampen investors' returns and increase their risk.

The well-documented struggles of the U.S. economy continue to pose increased difficulties for borrowers underlying U.S. middle market CLOs. Whereas early middle market CLOs benefited from solid performance of underlying middle market loans, the economic downturn has affected the viability of middle market companies resulting in a significant increase in defaults, which has contributed to negative rating pressures on middle market CLOs.

A new financing vehicle is poised to take off in Mexico, and it has structured finance players scrambling to make deals. What's interesting is that, at its core, it's an equity product.

Early last summer, the Obama administration proposed a sweeping revision of U.S. financial regulation. Among its notable features are the elevation of the Federal Reserve to the role of primary financial regulator and the creation of a Financial Services Oversight Council to monitor so-called systemic risks, i.e., those exposures that risk a cascading series of failures based on the collapse of one entity.

As the credit rating agencies (CRAs) begin to rebuild their brand, market experts are questioning whether the changes these firms are implementing are tackling the key problems that have caused rating inaccuracies.

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) are still scrutinized and blamed for their failure to capture the true risk in rated ABS transactions.

Although the economic fallout from the "great recession" would have been much higher without the steadying hand of government, its activity also has other consequences, including a potential downside for the commercial real estate sector.

In keeping with the Term ABS Loan Facility's (TALF) and thePublic-Private Investment Program's (PPIP) prominent roles in the current securitization market, the Information Management Network (IMN) has aptly made these programs the focus of its upcoming 15th AnnualABS Eastgathering.

Notwithstanding the anaemic state of securitization generally, cross-border securitization of Canadian receivables has remained fairly steady, and in some sectors has actually picked up.

The eighth TALF round closed last week. Of the $7.9 billion of new issuance in 12 transactions, $6.5 billion was TALF-eligible.

Interactive Data Corp announced an exclusive agreement with Prism Valuation to offer pricing and reference data for loans made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in connection with the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

URDANG, the real estate investment subsidiary for BNY Mellon Asset Management, has created a new real estate debt strategy group by hiring eight team members from Capmark Investments LP.

Detecting a change in attitude among both buyers and sellers — not to mention what is now a three-month increase in the benchmark price indices that bear his name — economist Karl Case believes the housing market has hit bottom.