Securitization

Mortgage rates continued their downward trend with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate declining 7bps to 4.87% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending October 8, according to Freddie Mac"s weekly survey. Rates are at their lowest level since mid-May and are just nine basis points above the record low of 4.78% hit in early April and again in early May.

The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association and The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) filed a comment letter with banking regulators to address the proposed risk-based capital treatment of assets coming on the books of banks on January 1, 2010, as a result of FAS 166 and FAS 167.

Two former heads of Deutsche Bank’s Asian distressed debt group have launched their own boutique investment bank, the group announced. SC Lowy Financial Services will focus on trading and advisory services for distressed debt investments in Asia, but the firm will eventually branch out to emerging markets and Europe.

Foxcode Real Estate launched a new private real estate investment fund that is expected to raise $50 million and will take advantage of depressed real estate prices due to the current market environment.

Duane Morris LLP announced that Marc A. Kushner has joined the firm as a partner in its New York office.

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation announced that it has completed two term securitization transactions involving the issuance of $350 million of investment-grade asset-backed notes.

DRI Management Systems appointed Diane Klimek as product manager for the company's newest release of its web-based version of The Default Solution.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced the appointment of Brad Cheney as director of Legislative Affairs.

BTIG LLC, a global broker dealer specializing in institutional trading and related brokerage services, announced it has opened an office in Singapore through its affiliate BTIG Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Megan Rutt has joined Janney Montgomery Scott’s debt capital markets team as a managing director.

Now that a government program to buy up toxic assets finally appears ready to fly, many observers are wondering if there is any need for it.

Fitch Ratings today published rating criteria for repackaged senior structured finance notes and said that not all resecuritizations are eligible for higher ratings.

Tom Koonce will join Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) as vice president of legislative affairs, effective November 2, 2009.

The performance of many asset classes in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) securitization sector will continue to deteriorate throughout the rest of the year and into 2011 as factors such as rising unemployment continue to test the market, said market analysts.

Conventional prepayment speeds slowed in September versus expectations of a small increase. Consensus was looking for a 4% increase; however, speeds declined around 10%. Factors influencing the September report and hence the bias towards slightly faster speeds were slightly lower average 30-year mortgage rates at 5.19% in August versus 5.22% in July, while the Refi Index averaged 6.4% higher on the month to 2056. Day count was unchanged from August at 21 days.

The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association (CMSA) will testify today before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee where it will share its perspectives on issues facing the $3.5 billion commercial real estate finance market.

September was a poor month for ABS issuance in Mexico, but the pipeline portends a few sizable deals up ahead. The only transactions placed in the public market was the second RMBS from FOVISSSTE, basically the piggybank for government employees in the country, and a negligibly-sized re-opening of an RBMS from Hipotecaria Total (for description of Total’s unique approach to RMBS see ASR 2/4/08).

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today published its final rules on the liquidity requirements expected of firms.

Market prices within U.S. subprime RMBS continue to show signs of stabilization, although there is little sign of any increase in value, according to Fitch Solutions in its latest CDS of RMBS indices results.

Ford Credit Canada Limited announced today that it completed a securitization of a pool of retail conditional sale contracts, receiving immediately available proceeds of approximately $700 million CAD ($658 million).