Securitization

Ganesh Rajendra will become global head of ABS strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland this month, according to published reports.

Pending home sales plunged 16.0% to a reading of 96.0 in November from a revised 3.9% gain to 114.3 in October, originally reported as a 3.7% rise to 114.1, according to an index released today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Fannie Mae has changed one of its policies for disposing of foreclosed homes in a way that could force servicers to take their lumps sooner.

Struggling with their own problems, the mortgage industry's megaservicers are unlikely landing spots for GMAC's troubled home loan unit.

The Federal Reserve Board will be able to influence interest rates through sales of the MBS it has accumulated over the past year, according to a Fed official.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) should give lenders five years, instead to three years, to meet a higher $2.5 billion net worth requirement, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA) expects roughly 20 different investors to submit applications to clear them for bidding on an $11 billion jumbo servicing portfolio that belongs to the bankrupt Thornburg Mortgage of Santa Fe.

Mark Oman, who oversees the mortgage division of Wells Fargo, has been granted a "retention" bonus in the form of stock that is valued at $5 million, according to a statement made by the company.

The legal and capital restructuring of the retail bank Northern Rock was finished on Jan. 1.

Lebanese bank BSEC last week announced the funding of a second auto loan ABS for local dealership Bassoul & Heneine.

TriMas Corp. entered into a new accounts receivable facility with Wachovia Bank. The new facility, which has a three-year term, provides committed funding of up to $75 million.

MF Global Holdings, which offers customized solutions in global cash, derivatives and related markets, said that MF Global, the parent company of all MF Global companies, moved its corporate quarters from Bermuda to Delaware and changed its name to MF Global Holdings.

Figures reported by reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. point to a healthy recovery in the catastrophe bond sector in 2009. The sector saw volumes increase by 25% over 2008.

Manager Activity: Autos Book Runner Amount (US$ Mil) Rank Mkt.

As is often the case when looking into the future, we have some good news and some bad news regarding the leveraged loan market in 2010. The bad news, though hardly a surprise, comes in the form of returns - much lower ones. The good news is the expectation that primary issuance will jump, with some market participants portending the return of the CLO.

As 2009 began, the government was scrambling to put together programs to keep financial institutions afloat, provide liquidity to the frozen credit markets, keep people in their homes and develop stimulus packages to prevent the economy from sinking into a depression.

As of the holidays, a hefty CDO was in the Brazilian market and drawing substantial interest, sources said.

Moving in synch with regulators from other countries, Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) has taken measures to boost transparency in the housing finance markets. In addition, the capital-markets regulator may soon push ahead on measures that are on the agenda elsewhere, such as retention requirements.

The RMBS downturn in Mexico, most acute among nonbank originators, has put sector regulator Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal (SHF) on war footing.

In 2009, the ABS market came back from the brink. Because of extensive government support in the U.S. and across the pond, issuers and investors emerged from hiding and started doing deals again. But this nascent activity was all premised on the fact that the government was serving as the securitization market's backstop.