ABS

Manager Activity: AutosFull Credit to Book (Equal if Joint) U.S. Public ABS Market/144A Market

For the countries of the Gulf, the ABS party's over before it ever got started. Fitch Ratings recently released a brief commentary on how eroding property markets in the region are putting deals in harm's way.

Loan modifications are becoming increasingly common because of the declining housing environment. Although it still remains uncertain how these modifications will play out, ABS players, specifically investors, need all possible tools to cope with the potential repercussions of changes in loan terms on the securities they are invested in. In this roundtable, we found out how market players are using data analysis to understand the impact of loan modifications on ABS portfolios. The discussion was moderated by ASR editor Karen Sibayan.

Covered bonds, a time-tested technique for capital-raising, have been utilized by credit institutions in Germany for over two centuries.

Nearly 70% of existing Dutch RMBS deals include early call options. However, only deals that include a call date in 2012 from larger securitization originators are likely to be called through, according to Societe Generale.

President Barack Obama has been in office for less than a month. But already, there are a slew of new programs on the table slated to boost lending in the structured finance market and jumpstart new deal flow.

"No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up." -Lily Tomlin.

With consumers under increasing stress, credit card ABS performance has weakened. In anticipation of a prolonged stressed environment for consumers, investors are asking the following questions: if performance continues to deteriorate, what will this mean for credit card ABS ratings?

As in much of the developed world, Kazakhstan has determined that the global crisis has left it with few choices.

Total lending through the Federal Reserve Board's discount window continued to decline this week, falling 3.7%, to $149 billion on Wednesday.

Despite the Federal Reserve's effort to push down mortgage rates through MBS purchases, the spread between primary and secondary mortgage rates has remained stubbornly wide, according to Merrill Lynch analysts in a recent report.

Instead of declining toward 4.5% which is what the government wants, mortgage rates have been moving higher since hitting 4.96% on Jan. 15.

Under a pilot program involving reduced documentation loans from California, Nevada and other high delinquency states, Freddie Mac is turning calls over to third-party servicers to perform loan workouts.

President Barrack Obama yesterday signed into law an extension and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program that increases the tax on cigarettes by 62 cents to $1.01 per pack. The action puts into question new tobacco bond deals that states want to back with consumption-based settlement payments from tobacco companies.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a package of bills Wednesday designed to improve bank liquidity and reduce foreclosures.

Green Tree hired Patricia Cook will be joining the company as executive vice president in business development.

Head of structured finance at Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York Hiroyuki Kasama will be leaving his post next week. Kasama will be taking up a new assignment in the bank's Tokyo office.

NewOak Capital appointed Patrick Mooney as Chief Operating Officer, coordinating internal operations and system and processes build-out.

Howard Finkelstein, an attorney at Akerman Senterfitt and a microfinance expert, has established his own law office.

In response to declining home values, Freddie Mac is increasing delivery fees for certain high LTV and low FICO score mortgages, effective April 1.