Investors

  • Dutch VAT grace period mulled

    Sector developments and company hires

    Alhambra missed payment
    A borrower of a €10m loan securitised in the Alhambra SME Funding 2019-1 transaction has missed its February interest payment. The servicer says it is in “close contact” with the borrower and does not believe it is a defaulted loan, as defined in the prospectus. The borrower expects to receive funds in the coming weeks, which will .......

    Market Moves 10 March 2020

  • Insurance giants set to combine

    Sector developments and company hires

    Insurer combination agreed
    Aon and Willis Towers Watson have agreed to combine in an all-stock transaction with an implied combined equity value of approximately US$80bn. The strategic rationale behind the combination is to create a more innovative platform capable of delivering better outcomes for all stakeholders, including new solutions that more efficiently match capital with unmet client needs in high-growth areas like .......

    Market Moves 9 March 2020

  • NPL reductions eyed

    Greek liquidation law set to facilitate securitisation

    Non-performing loan securitisations are expected to be the primary tool for NPL reductions in Greece over the next 18 months, given the option of derecognising assets without incurring punitive capital charges, the HAPS guarantee and the tough NPL reduction targets that banks have to meet by the end of 2021. One factor that will help in this respect is .......

    News Analysis 6 March 2020

  • Bulgarian micro loan guarantees inked

    Sector developments and company hires

    Bulgarian guarantees
    The EIF has signed new guarantee agreements with Unicredit Bulbank, United Bulgarian Bank and ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) to support the fast-growing documentary finance activity in Bulgaria. Under these agreements, the three EIF partner banks will finance Bulgarian small enterprises and small mid-caps with documentary credit lines, such as letters of credit, payment guarantees, advance payment guarantees and performance .......

    Market Moves 4 March 2020

  • IRPH index ruling 'credit negative'

    Sector developments and company hires

    CMBS property sales
    KBRA has been notified of the sale of 29 properties in the Eos (ELoC No. 35) CMBS. All of the properties are located in the Netherlands and nearly all (28) are industrial assets. As a result of the sale, an amount equal to €74.3m will be applied in mandatory prepayment of the senior loan, representing 17.9% of .......

    Market Moves 3 March 2020

  • Pandemic cat bonds triggered

    World Bank ILS could encourage further issuance

    The current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will likely trigger pay-outs for US$132.5m in pandemic catastrophe bonds sponsored by the World Bank Group's (WBG) Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF), according to commentary from DBRS Morningstar. “This funding will be channelled to eligible countries to mitigate the impact of the outbreak and might validate the need for market-based mechanisms to deal with pandemics," .......

    News Analysis 3 March 2020

  • DLT litigation ABS on the cards

    Sector developments and company hires

    Acquisition
    Pretium Partners has acquired the investment management business of Latigo Partners. Latigo co-founders David Ford and David Sabath are joining Pretium as senior mds, members of the executive committee and remain as portfolio managers of Latigo’s investment vehicles. Additional investment professionals, as well as several key operational members of the Latigo team are also joining Pretium. Founded in 2005, .......

    Market Moves 2 March 2020

  • Provisioning hedge

    Landmark Italian SRT inked

    AmTrust International has completed its inaugural capital relief trade, which references a €1bn seasoned low-LTV residential mortgage portfolio originated by an undisclosed leading Italian bank. The transaction is believed to be a first for the European market in that the SRT mechanism is via an insurance policy, rather than a financial guarantee.

    “The solution highlights the increasing role .......

    News 2 March 2020

  • MSR subservicing transfer agreed

    Sector developments and company hires

    EMEA
    Michael Fiebig has been appointed coo at responsAbility Investments. Fiebig will be responsible for the firm’s regional offices and central functions, such as legal, finance and business technology. Previously, he was responsible for private equity investments at responsAbility.

    MSR transfer
    Ocwen Financial Corp is set to transfer the subservicing of agency loans currently subserviced by its subsidiary PHH Mortgage .......

    Market Moves 27 February 2020

  • Green ILS framework rolled out

    Sector developments and company hires

    EMEA
    Nick Holman has joined Kartesia to lead investments in the UK from the Kartesia Senior Opportunities (KSO) I fund. Holman joins Kartesia from Santander’s structured finance team, where he was a director. He will work alongside Javier Castillo, Charles-Henri Clappier and Thomas Poehler in the KSO senior team.

    Green ILS framework
    Generali has developed a ‘Green Insurance Linked Securities .......

    Market Moves 26 February 2020

  • GM withdrawal from Aussie autos 'credit negative'

    Sector developments and company hires

    CMBS analytics platform
    Thetica Systems has launched a web platform for CMBS pricing and analytics tools, which can be used to quickly analyse bid lists, gather market colour and perform deep analysis. Clients control the requirements for access to inputs and calculations.

    EMEA
    PGGM recently promoted Youssef Sfaif to the position of director, credit and insurance linked investments. The role .......

    Market Moves 25 February 2020

  • VAT switch

    European CLO managers hit with backdated bill

    Dutch tax authorities have changed their interpretation of VAT law in connection with CLO management fees, impacting an estimated 30% of European CLO SPVs. Dutch lawyers disagree with the change and are appealing the decision, but it remains unclear how long the appeal process will take and whether CLO managers will have to pay the bill in the meantime.

    News 24 February 2020

  • Moving down

    Insurers target first-loss CRTs

    Insurers are now targeting the first-loss tranches of capital relief trades, having eyed the senior mezzanine tranches of dual-tranche transactions last year (SCI 22 March 2019). The better risk/return profile of first-loss tranches and an adaptation of traditional credit insurance contracts into unconditional guarantee formats are the main factors driving the development.

    According to one reinsurer: “We have no .......

    News Analysis 21 February 2020

  • SRT fund launched

    AXA engineers return

    AXA Investment Managers has completed its eighth partner capital solutions fund. With the move, the firm is seeking to capitalise on diversification opportunities and volume growth in the risk transfer market.

    According to Deborah Shire, global head of structured finance at AXA Investment Managers: "The reg cap market has been transformed into a full-fledged alternative investment opportunity, with .......

    News 21 February 2020

  • Rarity value

    European ABS market update

    The European ABS market remains characterised by a lack of free flow. Against this backdrop, the senior notes of the Spanish Gedesco Trade Receivables 2020-1 transaction are attracting investor interest, due to its rarity value.

     “It is still very much the same tone. Generally, we are not seeing a huge amount of trading,” one trader notes.

    He .......

    Market Reports 21 February 2020

  • Minority equity interest acquired

    Sector developments and company hires

    Equity interest acquired
    Affiliated Managers Group has acquired a minority equity interest in Comvest Partners. The Comvest management team will be investing 100% of the transaction proceeds directly into future funds to support the firm’s growth initiatives. Following the transaction, the senior partners of Comvest will continue to own a significant majority of the equity of the business.

    HPI .......

    Market Moves 20 February 2020

  • C-PACE fund debuts

    Standalone platform leads origination

    Samas Asset Management (SAM) has launched its debut fund, a closed-end vehicle dubbed SAMAS FUNDING PACE FUND LLLP Series 2020. The Samas entities are now the ‘‘largest standalone commercial PACE origination platform in the US’’.

    The PACE bonds in this fund represent a diversified portfolio associated with small- and medium-sized commercial properties.

    ‘‘Projects that we finance generate .......

    News 20 February 2020

  • SME double

    EIF closes pair of EFSI guarantees

    The EIF has closed two new guarantee agreements supporting European SMEs, both of which are supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). One is a synthetic securitisation executed with Commerzbank and the other is the extension of a COSME facility with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK).

    Under the first agreement, the EIB and the EIF have provided .......

    News 19 February 2020

  • Auction house

    Online AMR, BWIC matching services debut

    January was a breakthrough month for KopenTech for two reasons. Not only did the firm execute its first online applicable margin reset (AMR) auction (SCI 19 February 2019), but its BWIC matching platform also went live.

    Anthony Schexnayder, head of business development at KopenTech, says both services are designed to facilitate liquidity and transparency across the .......

    News Analysis 19 February 2020

  • Manager discretion

    Direct lending securitisations on the rise

    A growing number of direct lending funds are raising debt via securitisation of their shares. A carefully considered approach is needed when assessing the credit risk of such debt, however, given the large discretion managers have to build highly non-granular investment portfolios.

    Traditionally, direct lending funds have issued shares with equity-type properties to raise financing. But recent regulations .......

    News 19 February 2020

  • Distressed debt unit formed

    Oaktree establishes Chinese subsidiary

    Oaktree Capital Management has become the first foreign distressed debt manager to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in China as part of phase one of the US-China trade deal. The trade deal will allow US firms to apply for asset management company (AMC) licenses and hence purchase non-performing loans directly from Chinese banks.

    At the moment, foreign .......

    News 19 February 2020
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