ABS

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings of CIFG Guaranty (CIFG) and its affiliates to 'CCC' from 'A-'.

A significantly smaller number of players are headed to the European Securitization Forum (ESF) and Information Management Network (IMN) Global ABS 2008 to be held in Cannes next week.

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

Whistlejacket Capital, Standard Chartered's (StanChart) $7 billion SIV, has successfully appealed against the legal action that sought out a $220 million repayment of debt owed to one of its creditors.

As the subprime crisis metastasized into a global liquidity crunch last year, Russian banks stopped issuing cross-border structured deals.

Credit performance continued to deteriorate in the May ABX remittance reports released last week.

With mortgage delinquencies on a perpetual trend upward, there is no shortage of nonperforming loans in the market.

The Italian government is proposing a new decree that allows for loan modifications. This change is aimed at making mortgage debt more affordable for certain borrowers, resembling recent U.S. government loan modification initiatives.

Europe has had to take a long, hard look at the internal workings of its securitization industry. What has resulted is a long line of market initiatives that will help shape the future of the market and presumably avoid any catastrophic loss for future deals.

The bond insurers will soon be subject to new accounting rules intended to bring greater transparency and consistency of reporting practices at a time that is perhaps the most difficult in the industry's history, an environment most recently illustrated by the first-quarter loss reported by Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.

In the war against rising mortgage delinquencies, industry participants have rallied together to develop a loan modification framework that would not only help borrowers continue to pay their mortgage obligations, but also maximize proceeds for investors.

Credit Suisse recently reorganized its structured products group and CDO group. These changes come after the firm shut down origination activity, cut positions and reduced its risk exposure over the past year, according to an internal memo at the bank.

The Department of Education has revealed more details about its plan to promote liquidity for FFELP lenders, shedding light on two programs - loan purchase and short-term liquidity facilities - included in the recently enacted "Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008."

The ABS new issue market was slow to almost nonexistent last week, coming off the Memorial Day holiday.

Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets launched its latest SME CLO. This is the bank's fourth balance sheet securitization from its commercial loan book.

Late yesterday, Freddie Mac released its quarterly Conventional Home Price Index (CMHPI) for the first quarter.

Merrill Lynch appointed James Quigley as president of Merrill Lynch for Latin America and Canada.

Mission Capital Advisors, a boutique investment bank, closed the sale of two residential mortgage loan portfolios totaling $195 million.

Lewtan Technologies announced that it will launch a new portal that provides free access to the most recent remittance reports and original prospectuses for public European securitizations at Information Management Network's Global ABS conference in Cannes that starts this week.

Credit Suisse recently reorganized its structured products group. These changes come after the firm shut down origination activity, cut positions and reduced its risk exposure over the past year, according to an internal memo at the bank.