ABS

European credit card securitizations could start feeling the heat as continued economic deterioration places further performance pressure on transactions that have, until now, withstood the turmoil.

An announced merger between Brazilian banking behemoths Banco Itau Holding Financeiro and Unibanco-Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros has reverberated through Sao Paulo's financial sector, as the move would produce the country's largest bank.

A growing number of banks are providing hybrid facilities that combine asset-based loans (ABL) with special purpose vehicles (SPV).

As commercial real estate market woes keep investors' eyes fixed on mounting losses instead of new deal flow, firms with expertise in valuing these commercial assets have increased their focus on securities and loan analytics.

As unforgiving commercial mort-gage market conditions continue to challenge the financial services industry, Centerline Holding Co., the parent company of Centerline Capital Group - an alternative asset manager with a focus on real estate financing - has become the latest firm to make headlines.

The ABS market suffered another week of silence as new issuance remained virtually non-existent and trading continued to slow.

As the U.S. government continues to unveil measures aimed at preventing foreclosures and shoring up liquidity in the capital markets, industry participants have widely expressed concern over the lack of activity in the loan modification space.

Merrill Lynch ABS trader Matt Swaski is no longer with the bank. A source close to the company said he has been gone for several weeks and was not aware if he had yet moved to a new firm. Calls to Merrill Lynch for comment were not returned by press time.

American politics took center stage last week, but the message President-elect Barack Obama had for U.S. citizens could be applied across Europe as well.

Ginnie Mae guaranteed the issuance of $27 billion in mortgage-backed securities in September, down slightly from the record high of $29.1 billion in August, which represents the first monthly drop in Ginnie MBS issuance this year.

In a report released this morning, Merrill Lynch analysts talked about a proposal that the market allow certain re- REMIC classes that are economically the same as pass-throughs to basically be remade into passthroughs.

Seyfarth Shaw established a covered bonds team to assist clients with covered bond offerings addressed by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Equity Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon now have a global referral agreement where both companies refer potential business opportunities for structured finance services to each other.

Centerline Holding Co., a New York-based alternative asset manager with a focus on real estate funds, said it has reduced its workforce by about 20%.

GMAC Financial Services expressed some doubt about its ResCap's mortgage unit's future in preliminary third-quarter results that show a substantial net loss at ResCap is likely to be the main contributor to an even larger net loss for the company as a whole.

MBIA and Ambac Financial Group continue to be hit by exposure to the U.S. housing market, adding to their loss reserves as they posted third quarter losses.

Mission Capital Advisors is now accepting bids for a portfolio of performing, sub-performing and nonperforming commercial mortgage loans that are secured by various commercial real estate in Florida, with a balance of more than $62 million.

An extension Syncora Holdings and its subsidiaries reached to extend the negotiation period with counterparties on credit default swaps and other financial guarantee contracts has now expired, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday night.

Popular, Puerto Rico's largest mortgage lender, has completed the sale of loans and servicing assets from its U.S. mortgage subsidiary to units of Goldman Sachs.

Deutsche Bank Securities hired Peter Hornick for its i nstitutional client group (ICG) within the global markets division as a managing director and head of credit sales for North America .