Emerging markets

Fitch Ratings took a swipe at its peers, saying some recent Mexican equipment lease securitizations they rated ‘AAA’ merit no more than a single ‘A’ rating.

Investors no longer feel limited to their own country for securitization investment opportunities; they are becoming comfortable with the risks and rewards of investing in and owning a global book.

Retail banks might return to the Mexican market or residential mortgage-backed securities.

In the EMEA area (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) a slew of commercial mortgage backed securities are maturing this month.

Slated for December issuance, a mortgage covered bond from Russia’s DeltaCredit Bank is being shopped to both local and foreign investors.

Moody's has downgraded MBIA Insurance Corp. to 'Caa2' and MBIA to 'Caa1.'

In its July legal update, Dechert described the re-launching of China's ABS program as a “milestone” in the development of ABS in the country.

Moody’s Investors Service believes that the modifications that Brazilian regulators have proposed to the regulatory framework governing ABS are a credit positive for the country’s securitization market, according to its Weekly Credit Outlook.

In a twist on the old cliche about Brazil, it seems at times that covered bonds in Latin America are the instrument of the future, and always will be.

At the 2012 SiLAS conference hosted by Euromoney Seminars and LatinFinance, a panel on rig lease receivable deals sparked hope that the architecture of this sector could be applied to other businesses.

While participants of the 2012 SiLAS conference hosted by Euromoney Seminars and LatinFinance were happy to move on from the Mexico-centric talk of previous years, more than a few players were still buzzing about the plans by Mexican originator and recurring RMBS issuer Infonavit to eventually morph into an investor. (See graph at right for projected cash flows.)

Brazil's housing market boom continues to make headlines. From January 2008 through April 2012, home prices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro jumped 135% and 169%, respectively, according to the FipeZap Index, which tracks prices every month in the country's seven biggest cities.

Dealmakers, issuers and investors in Latin American structured finance are often quick to point out that they've been spared the worst brutalities of the global financial crisis and the more recent sovereign debt anxiety in Europe, with the exception of the nonbank real estate sector in Mexico.

Standard & Poor's today released research on the role of credit ratings in the financial system.

Nigeria’s Skye Bank has received a $150 million, five-year loan backed by remittances generated from Nigerians living abroad, according to a press release put out by the transaction’s participants.

Fitch Ratings has appointed John Miles as head of Fitch Australia effective immediately. Based in Sydney, he will be responsible for managing the rating agency's day-to-day business operations in Australia and New Zealand.

Two and a half years ago, regulators opened the door for rating agencies to offer ratings or commentary on credits even when they haven't been hired to do so. Since then, all NRSROs can access detailed transaction data that issuers are required to post on designated issuer Web sites. The intended effect: a side market in unsolicited ratings and commentary. The actual effect: not a single unsolicited rating and roughly 15 commentaries.

Recently National Australia Bank (NAB) had priced a $1 billion RMBS for Member Equity Bank that was sold to global investors, which include money market investors, and domestic buysiders.

Standard & Poor's today rated a $200 million covered bond deal from Panama's Global Bank, the first of its kind in Latin America.

The latest wave of proposed European regulations on rating agencies, known as CRA3, contains a rule that has unsettled players from every corner of the financial market: enforced ratings rotation.