Securitization

Appleby opened a representative office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the offshore law firm announced in a press release today.

Securitization markets have typically fallen quiet during the summer months. However, in a not-so-typical environment, this has been proven wrong.

Sallie Mae is in the market with a Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF)-eligible $1.1 billion private student loan deal.

Clients plan to serve Belgian bank KBC with papers stating it didn’t properly warn consumers of risks involved with CDOs, according to published reports.

Advanta Bank Corp. entered into two regulatory agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) effective on June 30.

Standard & Poor's credit analysts expect higher levels of defaults this year as performance of prime jumbo loans continues to deteriorate.

The 12 Federal Home Loan Banks reported combined earnings of $345 million in the first quarter, down 50% from a year ago, as six banks took a net loss for the quarter primarily due to impairment charges on private-label mortgage-backed securities.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft moved its Washington, D.C. offices to a new location. This unites all of the firm’s personnel in one location on four floors, a release from the firm said.

Dewey & LeBoeuf has hired Marshall Stoddard, the former co-chair of Mayer Brown’s global banking and finance practice, as the head of its U.S. bank and institutional finance group.

Bingham McCutchen and McKee Nelson have signed a letter of intent to combine on or before Aug. 1, today’s Bingham release said.

Amherst Holdings has a new Hong Kong subsidiary called Amherst International Ltd. (AIL) — marking the company’s first international venture — according to an Amherst press release.

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

A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plan to place new restrictions on private-equity firms seeking to buy failed banks is facing strong opposition from fellow bank regulators and could temporarily freeze all private-equity activity in bank acquisitions.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) continues to work on its list of acceptable tax havens.

Q&A

This month, UniCredit launched its inaugural OBG (Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite) benchmark.

The first round of CMBS TALF saw no takers. However, the lackluster reception isn't indicative of a lack of appetite. Market sources said it's just a matter of dealing with a more complex asset class that has required more work and, consequently, will take more time to gather momentum under the Federal Reserve program.

Nascent signs of economic recovery bode well for the commercial real estate sector, which lags the economy, but the ongoing correction in the sector is not yet done.

In what is being widely viewed as a vindication of the DPR product, stressed programs originated by Kazkommertsbank and BTA Bank have fully paid down.

The package of financial regulatory reforms recently proposed by the Obama administration includes a proposal for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. According to the document, the agency would "...protect consumers across the financial sector from unfair, deceptive and abusive practices." While this proposal is likely to generate strong opposition from the financial community, the events of the past few years make some form of regulation inevitable. However, stronger regulation of the financial sector, including consumer finance, should be accomplished through the legislative process.