On September 15, Fitch released its global rating methodology for rental fleet ABS. Fitch Release.
On September 15, S&P published its methodology and general assumptions for rating Mexican RMBS. S&P Release.
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On September 14, the New York Fed’s Treasury Markets Practices Group released a report to serve as a guideline for controls and operations of market participants active in the wholesale Treasury, agency debt, and agency MBS markets. NY Fed Release.
On September 7, Moody’s requested comments on a proposed new methodology and rating scale for money market funds. Comments should be received within 60 days. Moody’s Release.
On September 7, S&P revised its recovery rates for CMBS collateral in resecuritizations. S&P Release.
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On September 7, the SEC announced plans to hold a series of field hearings to examine the municipal securities markets, starting on September 21 in San Francisco. Topics will include disclosure and transparency, credit ratings, and internal controls. A panel of individual and institutional investors will also share their experiences in the market. After the hearings, the SEC will release a staff report containing information learned as well as recommendations for regulatory changes, industry “best practices”, and any legislative changes. SEC Release.
On September 8, the SEC and CFTC announced plans to hold two joint public roundtables on issues relating to the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. The first roundtable on September 14 will, among other things, focus on issues related to swap data repository registration, and models for real time public reporting. The second roundtable on September 15 will focus on issues relating to swap execution facilities and security-based swap execution facilitates. The discussions will be open to the public. SEC Release.
On September 7, SEC Chairman Schapiro discussed issues facing the equity market structure, including: (i) circuit breaker mechanisms that directly limit price volatility, (ii) the regulatory scheme for high frequency trading firms, (iii) the practice of submitting large volumes of orders into the markets, most of which are cancelled, and (iv) the effect of market fragmentation on public price discovery and market stability. SEC Release.
On September 7, HUD launched the FHA Short Refinance option, which will allow underwater non-FHA borrowers (i) who are current on their existing mortgage and (ii) whose lien holders agree to write off at least 10% of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage, to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage. To be eligible, servicers must execute a Servicer Participation Agreement with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3. HUD Release. FHA Mortgage Letter.
Over the weekend, the oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced a strengthening of bank capital requirements that will be presented to the Seoul G20 Leaders summit in November. The package of reforms will increase the minimum common equity requirement from 2% to 4.5%. In addition, banks will be required to hold a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% to withstand future periods of stress bringing the total common equity requirements to 7%. These risk based capital ratios, as well as additional capital in the form of a countercyclical buffer and a non-risk based leverage ratio, will be phased in over time during a lengthy transition period. “Systemically important” financial institutions are likely to be required to hold still additional capital, subject to a further ongoing review. All of these requirements are subject to legislative and/ or regulatory action in the countries that govern the activities of banks within their jurisdictions. National implementation by member countries will begin on January 1, 2013. Member countries must translate the rules into national laws and regulations before this date. Basel Release.
On August 25, S&P published its methodology and assumptions for surveilling rated U.S. RMBS transactions backed by reverse mortgages. S&P Release.
On September 1, Moody’s updated its methodology for the way it assigns ratings to jointly supported letter of credit-backed debt in the U.S. municipal market. Moody’s Release.
On September 1, Moody’s announced that it will immediately begin communicating credit estimates to managers of EMEA CLOs using an updated conversion of credit estimates to rating factors. Moody’s Release.
On September 2, DBRS requested comments on proposed rating methodology for the Master European Granular Corporate Securitizations (SME CLOs). Comments should be received by September 30. DBRS Release.
On September 1, DBRS requested comments on proposed rating methodology for the Unified Interest Rate Model, which is designed to provide a consistent platform for suggesting interest rate stresses to be applied across all rating submissions. Comments should be received by October 29. DBRS Release.
On August 27, DBRS requested comments on proposed legal criteria for European structured finance transactions. Comments should be received by September 30. DBRS Release.
On August 30, DBRS requested comments on proposed surveillance methodology for European securitizations. Comments should be received by October 29. DBRS Release.
On August 30, DBRS requested comments on proposed rating methodology for European consumer ABS transactions. Comments should be received by October 29. DBRS Release.
On August 30, DBRS requested comments on proposed rating methodology for European RMBS transactions. Comments should be received by October 29. DBRS Release.
On August 31, DBRS requested comments on proposed rating methodology for European CMBS transactions. Comments should be received by September 30. DBRS Release.
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On September 2, FDIC Chairman Bair and Fed Chairman Bernanke testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on systemically important institutions and the “too big to fail” issue. Bair addressed how systemic risks can be mitigated using the tools provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. Bair Testimony. Bernanke Testimony.
