Ashley Halvorsen is an associate in the Structured Finance group in the Los Angeles office.
Ashley represents issuers, underwriters, servicers, lenders, and other market participants in connection with securitizations, asset financings and sales, and negotiation of lending facilities. Ashley's practice encompasses a variety of asset-backed securities, including residential mortgage-backed securities and credit and charge card receivables.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have postponed the implementation date of their Adverse Market Refinance Fee from September 1 to December 1, per direction from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Certain Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans will also be exempt from the Adverse Market Refinance Fee. The fee is intended to cover costs to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac associated with protections extended to renters and borrowers affected by COVID-19. Release.
On September 1, KBRA published its Structured Finance: CMBS report titled Coronavirus (COVID-19): Affiliate of On-Demand Office Provider Regus Files for Bankruptcy—CMBS Exposure Examined. Report.
On September 1, DBRS Morningstar published its methodology titled DBRS Morningstar Global Structured Finance Related Methodologies. Methodology.
On August 28, DBRS Morningstar published its methodology titled U.S. Residential Mortgage Servicer Rankings. Methodology.
On August 28, DBRS Morningstar published its methodology titled U.S. Residential Mortgage Originator Rankings. Methodology.
On August 28, KBRA published its report titled CMBS/RMBS: Single-Borrower SFR Comprehensive Surveillance. Report.
On August 27, KBRA published its rating methodology titled ABS: Global Auto Loan ABS Rating. Methodology.
On August 24, KBRA published its research report titled Structured Credit: Coronavirus (COVID-19): U.S. BSL CLO Sector Exposure Map: July 2020. Report.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended the definition of “accredited investor” to more effectively identify institutional and individual investors that have the knowledge and expertise to participate in private capital markets. The amendments allow individuals to qualify as accredited investors based on measures of financial sophistication, including professional knowledge, experience or certification, as well as existing tests for income or net worth. The updates to the definition also expand the entities that may qualify as accredited investors. Release.
On June 29, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) provided additional protections for owners and renters of multifamily properties by allowing servicers to extend existing forbearance agreements for up to three months, for a total forbearance of up to six months for multifamily property owners with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Borrower may qualify for up to 24 months to repay the missed payments once the forbearance period concludes, and borrowers must comply with additional tenant protections during this period. Release.
On June 25, financial regulatory agencies modified the Volcker rule’s prohibition on banking entities investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds, known as covered funds. The final rule permits banking entities to offer financial services and engage in other activities that fall outside of the issues that the rule was intended to address, and it streamlines the covered funds portion of the rule. The rule will be effective as of October 1. Release. Final Rule.
On June 25, federal agencies finalized a rule that updates margin and capital requirements for banks and other entities with significant swap activities. The updated rule no longer requires entities that are part of the same banking organization to hold a specific amount of initial margin for uncleared swaps with each other, such swaps being known as inter-affiliate swaps. The changes to the swap margin rule also provide additional flexibility to allocate collateral internally. The final rule is intended to facilitate risk management and maintain existing safeguards. Release. Final Rule.
On June 30, Fitch published its criteria for Covered Bonds Rating. Criteria.
On June 30, DBRS Morningstar published its updated methodology for U.S. ABS General Ratings. Methodology.
On June 26, Moody’s published its updated methodology for Catastrophe Bonds. Methodology.
On June 26, KBRA published a release titled KBRA Assigns Ratings to BANK 2020-BNK27. Release.
On June 25, KBRA published a report titled Public Finance: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Unemployment Improves in All but Six States. Report.
On June 24, Moody’s published its revised methodology for rating Credit Card Receivables-Backed Securities. Methodology.
On June 24, Moody’s published its revised methodology for rating Credit Tenant Lease and Comparable Lease Financings. Methodology.
On June 19, Fitch published its revised criteria for rating Future Flow Securitizations. Criteria.
On June 19, Fitch published its revised criteria for rating CMBS Large Loans. Criteria.
On June 19, Moody’s published its revised methodology for rating Floorplan Asset-Backed Securities. Methodology.
On June 19, Moody’s published its revised methodology for rating Repackaged Securities. Methodology.
On June 18, Moody’s published its revised methodology for rating Covered Bonds. Methodology.
On May 6, Fitch published its updated Future Flow Securitization Rating. Criteria.
On May 4, DBRS Morningstar published its updated Assessing U.S. RMBS Pools Under the Ability-to-Repay Rules. Methodology.
On May 1, Moody’s published its updated Tobacco Settlement Revenue Securitizations. Methodology.
On May 1, Moody’s published its updated US Tax Lien-Backed Securitizations. Methodology.
On April 28, KBRA published an article entitled Coronavirus (COVID-19): CMBS Special Servicing and Watchlist Trends. Report.
On April 27, DBRS Morningstar published an updated version of Rating and Monitoring Covered Bonds. Methodology.
On April 27, DBRS Morningstar published an updated version of Rating and Monitoring Covered Bonds Addendum: Market Value Spreads. Methodology.
On April 27, Moody’s published its updated Structured Settlement Securitizations. Methodology.
On April 24, Moody’s published its updated Non-Performing and Re-Performing Loan Securitizations. Methodology.
On April 23, Fitch published its updated Credit Card ABS Rating. Criteria.
On April 23, KBRA published an article entitled Coronavirus (COVID-19): Private Corporate Credit Market Poised for Resiliency. Report.
On May 5, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) extended loan origination flexibilities offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until at least June 30th. The extended flexibilities aim to help borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating loan closings and include: (1) alternative appraisals on purchase and rate term refinance loans; (2) alternative methods for verifying employment; and (3) expanding the use of power of attorney and remote online notarizations. Release.
On May 5, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced an interim final rule to facilitate the flow of credit to households and businesses from banking organizations participating in the Federal Reserve’s Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility and the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility. The rule neutralizes the impact of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio rule associated with the funding provided by these facilities. Release. Rule.
