Securitization

Fund manager Henderson Group is set to launch its first European ABS opportunity fund to take advantage of prices in the sector. The new fund will be managed by Jim Irvine, who is head of structured products at the firm.

With bids for the fourth round of the Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF) due on Tuesday, several ABS deals are currently in the market.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published for public comment an exposure draft of draft guidance regarding fair value measurement, according to a release from the IASB.

Freddie Mac's purchases of refinanced mortgages slowed in April despite the launch of the Obama administration's new program to help borrowers with high loan-to-value ratios refinance into lower cost loans.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) effort to sell troubled bank loans is facing headwinds, including congressional skepticism about the public-private investment funds that would provide government financing for investors, according to agency chairman Sheila Bair.

Delinquencies of U.S. mortgages in the first quarter shot up to levels not seen in nearly four decades, snaring a wider range of borrowers and suggesting that the U.S. housing market remains under severe stress.

Sales of newly built homes sold at an annualized rate of 352,000 units in April, a meager increase from the previous month with the luxury market continuing to suffer tremendously.

Fixed mortgage rates moved higher, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.91% with an average 0.7 point, up from 4.82% last week.

According to a litigation report from MortgageDaily.com, an online resource that provides mortgage news analysis, the number of mortgage-related lawsuits filed in the first quarter of this year jumped to 81, a more than 50% increase from the 50 cases tracked during the same quarter in 2008.

Global Leveraged Capital has formed an advisory arm, GLC Advisors & Co., to advise debtors, creditors and stakeholders in distressed companies, the firm said today.

Broadpoint Capital, a broker-dealer subsidiary of Broadpoint Securities Group, hired Frank Gehring as a managing director and global head of rates sales.

In April 2009 HOPE NOW members and the industry at large modified 127,000 mortgages and completed 143,000 repayment plans totaling 270,000 interventions, "the largest number in any month" since the alliance started to compile data.

BMW Financial Services is in the market with a $1.5 billion auto ABS transaction. The Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF)-eligible transaction is led by Barclays Capital and JPMorgan Securities.

Jefferies & Co. continues to expand its debt team, making additions to its high yield, leveraged loan and distressed debt sales, trading and research group.

The May remittance reports, reflecting activity in April, released yesterday showed modification rates slightly declining with the biggest drop coming from the 07-2 series, according to a Merrill Lynch report.

Standard and Poor’s released a request for comment on a proposal to change its ratings methodology for fixed-rate conduit and fusion deals. The agency stated that it expected to downgrade 25%, 60% and 90% of super-senior 'AAA' bonds issued in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Downgrades on subordinated tranches may be more severe for European structured finance transactions with interest subordination triggers than for those without, Fitch Ratings analysts said.

Despite a change in accounting rules intended to weaken the punch of other-than-temporary impairment charges, five Federal Home Loan banks said they lost a combined $146 million during the first quarter.

National housing prices fell 11.5% as of March compared to a year ago, a slight improvement from an 11.7% annual decline as of February, according to new data from First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price Index.

Meeting his Memorial Day goal, President Obama signed sweeping credit card reform into law Friday.