Credit - 2008-05-01
Articles in this issue
Mexico dances to a different tune
With US structured finance markets in the grip of the subprime squeeze, close neighbour Mexico might be expected to have suffered a similar fate. But strong investor demand for securitisation and homeowner-friendly government initiatives are combining to…
Clearing house for derivatives back on the agenda
Widespread uncertainty over counterparty risk, crystallised by the collapse of Bear Stearns, has prompted dealers to resurrect talks aimed at setting up a clearing house for credit derivatives
Legal Spotlight
ABS investors may shudder at the mention of the word 'subprime', but that shouldn't deter issuers from using securitisation to raise capital. In our special extended feature, Neal Handa and Bruce Bloomingdale look at how the credit crisis has affected…
Traders get a taste for pick and mix
Relying exclusively on third-party applications for trading, pricing and risk management of mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities does not make sense for all buy-side firms. Alternative investment manager Highland Financial Holdings Group has…
An absorbing business for credit hedge funds
Analysts predict there will be a wave of consolidation in the credit hedge fund sector as battered funds look for ways to survive the market turmoil. Already a number of smaller managers have had to bow to the inevitable and merge with larger players…
Column: Nigel Sillis
The structured products that were once viewed as the F1 cars of the financial world - complex, efficient, high-performance - are now looking more like exhibits from Wacky Races
Column: Andrew Kasapis
Hedge funds are using correlation strategies to take advantage of widening CDS spreads
Q&A: Dennis Tracey & David Dunn
Banks are braced for a wave of litigation arising from the subprime crisis. But, as partners at law firm Hogan & Hartson point out, it won't just be subprime lenders that are facing law suits
MFS Investment Management: Smoothing out the bumps
As seasoned investors will tell you, putting your money in emerging markets can be a rough ride. The highs may be high, but the lows can be even lower. The emerging markets debt team at MFS Investment Management are aiming to give their investors a…
Profile: Bill Lindsay
The head of UK credit risk at Eurohypo tells Rob Mannix that the fundamentals of commercial property lending are just the same as they were pre-crisis
The squeeze is on - The clampdown on CDO ratings
The rating agencies have faced a barrage of criticism over their role in last year's subprime meltdown. This year they have been focusing on ensuring that a repeat of the ABS problems do not occur in other segments of the structured credit market. But…
The ABX index: A pricing conundrum
The liquidity crisis in the ABS market has led to investors using the ABX index as a valuation tool for individual securities - something the index was never designed for. Ben Logan explains the ramifications of this valuation practice
Can Fannie and Freddie fix the mortgage crisis?
The once-derided housing agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are being feted as potential saviours of the mortgage market after the authorities relaxed the laws limiting the amount of mortgage debt the agencies can hold. Simon Boughey reports
Back to basics
We take you back to the credit basics to review everything you thought you already knew but were too afraid to ask ..
Back to basics: non-determinant deposits
Liquidity and Deposits
Get a fix on floating-rate risk
Commercial Property
Buying power?
GSEs
