ASF 2010 conference: Investors reveal growing interest in securitisation

(l to r) former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

The annual conference for securitisation professionals moved from its usual home in Las Vegas to Washington DC this year, highlighting how the industry’s fortunes have become increasingly dependent on the political climate.

The securitisation industry has been severely tested in the past couple of years. New issuance is a fraction of what it was when the market was at its peak. In 2006, there was $750 billion of new US non-agency MBS, while consumer ABS issuance cleared the $900 billion mark. In