News - PCS

Read

18/02/2014

Financial Times articles sounds the alarm on European securitisation volumes

In an article published today, the Financial Times reports on 2013 securitisation issuance volumes published by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). These showed another marked decline especially compared to the strongly recovering US figures. The article recalls the PCS warning of a few months ago that one cannot rule out a market implosion if volumes continue to drop. These worrying figures underline the increasing gap between the wishes of European policy makers to see securitisation assist in funding a European recovery and the facts on the ground. The article can be found here (behind a paywall)

Read

12/02/2014

The PCS Secretariat is pleased to announce that the first PCS labels have been awarded for securitisations with Spanish assets. The two transactions have Spanish corporate loans and consumer loans respectively as their underlying assets

BBVA has successfully applied for and been awarded PCS labels for BBVA Consumo 2 FTA, Series A Bonds and BBVA-6 FYPYME FTA, Series A1 and Series A2(G) Bonds Further details can be found here.

Read

10/02/2014

European Banking Authority becomes a Permanent Observer to the PCS Association

Today, the European Banking Authority (EBA) became a Permanent Observer of the Prime Collateralised Securities Association, representing the first regulator to do so and a further sign of high-level European institutional support for the securitisation industry. The EBA will join other observers, such as the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) and KfW in providing input to future PCS meetings and decision-making. PCS is delighted and honoured by the EBA's decision and looks forward to obtaining the benefit of their insight in its deliberations.

Read

29/01/2014

Euroweek article: "Regulators must act on securitisation before it is too late" citing PCS as a possible solution

Euroweek published an article entitled "regulators must act on securitisation before it is too late". The article examines President Draghi's comment in Davos about the lack of securitisation issuance and the role of regulation in this state of affairs. Speaking of the need for a definition of high quality securitisation, it cites the PCS initiative as an example of how this can be achieved and quotes PCS' statements at the Las Vegas US securitisation conference. It also ties the issue of securitisation with that of the rebalancing of the European financial system away for the crushing preponderance of banks. The […]

Read

28/01/2014

Financial Times article on the European securitisation market

Today, the Financial Times carried an article on the European securitisation market. The article drew attention to the dangerously small size of the market, the negative impact of the proposed regulations and an unflattering comparison with the United States where the asset-backed market has returned strongly. PCS is quoted briefly. The article may be found here (but is behind a pay wall).

Read

27/01/2014

The Banker writes an article entitled "securitisation still suffering capital punishment"

An article published today by The Banker draws attention to the capital proposals relating to securitisation and their punitive nature. The PCS is both mentioned and quoted. The article may be found here (it is behind a pay wall but a free subscription allows access),

Read

27/01/2014

Financial Times reports Draghi's Davos comments

The Financial Times reported Mr Draghi's comments on securitisation at the Davos meeting. The FT focused more on the possibility of purchases of securitisations by the ECB than on the need for regulations to define high quality securitisations in order for the market to return. It seems to PCS that Mr Draghi was primarily musing on the possible nature of a European QE in view of the legal prohibition for the ECB to effect outright purchases of sovereign debt. One possibility mentioned was securitisation but, here, the problem foreseen by Mr Draghi was the simple fact that there was insufficient […]

Read

27/01/2014

Draghi calls for regulation to distinguish between good and bad securitisation to revive the market

In his contribution to the panel on the "Global Economic Outlook" in Davos on Friday 25th January, Mario Draghi spoke about possible actions of the ECB. He strongly hinted that the ECB could buy securitisations but noted that the market, at present, was basically "dead". However, he also stated that if regulations could distinguish between good and bad securitisations, the market may return. This indicates an ever increasing held view, amongst European policy makers, that the key to a return on the securitisation market lies, of necessity, in the bifurcation in regulatory frameworks between high quality securitisations and others. This […]

Read

21/01/2014

Global Risk Regulator publishes a good article on the current state of securitisation regulation

The most recent edition of Global Risk Regulator contains a very good article on the current state of securitisation in Europe and entitled "Regulators offer hope for European securitisation: New proposals for banks and insurers are more nuanced, but industry fears that capital rules are still too severe". PCS is mentioned and quoted extensively. The article can be found here. (It is behind a pay wall).

Read

21/01/2014

Banque de France supports RMBS as a way to counter bank deleveraging

In an article published on January 20th, l'AGEFI quotes the governor of the Banque de France, Christian Noyer, supporting the growth of a French RMBS market. The rationale put forward by Mr Noyer is that only securitisation can remove mortgages (and other assets) from the balance sheet of French banks. In this, he is reflecting a position of which PCS has been supportive throughout its existence: namely that if the threat to the European economic recovery is bank deleveraging and if bank deleveraging is the result of capital constaints and concerns, then only funding solutions that have a capital component […]

Read

20/01/2014

PCS amends Checklist, Rule Book, and Eligibility Criteria for Dutch securitisations

Following the joint work of the past couple of months between PCS and the DSA, together with the input from the Dutch securitisation community, we are pleased to announce that updated PCS Dutch criteria are now in place and live as at today. The updated Dutch criteria are contained in the new version 6 of the PCS rulebook and checklist. The PCS website contains the updated PCS checklist for your use and can be found here. The PCS website also contains the updated Rule Book which together with a blacklined version can be found here. We would be grateful if you could circulate […]

Read

13/01/2014

The Economist writes a leader in support of securitisation

This week's edition of The Economist contains both an editorial and an article on securitisation. The editorial is supportive of a return of securitisation in a simple form. It states that "securitisation certainly has a black mark against it, but it is far too useful to be banished for good" and points out quite accurately that every form of financial innovation we now take for granted as part of the infrastructure of the modern world (companies, shares, etc...) have all had existential crises. In the article, the growing support for a return of securitisation in a simple form from policy […]

Read

02/01/2014

Financial Times Lex column calls for further rehabilitation of securitisation by regulators

In a Lex column entitled "regulatory insecurity: regulators can do more to fix the damage they caused this market", the Financial Times takes a look at the positive shift in the statements made by regulators about securitisation. Noting the growing understanding that not all securitisation is problematic and that good quality securitisation is a positive aspect of the financial system, it also notes though the very small amount of European issuance. Based on this analysis, it concludes with the words: "More rehabilitation please." As indicated by the title of the column, this exhortation is clearly addressed at the regulatory community. […]

Read

23/12/2013

Three regulatory publications for Christmas...but no gold, frankincense or myrrh for securitisation.

Following the publications by the European Banking Authority of their report to the Commission regarding the definition of high quality liquid assets and by the Basel Committee of its new consultation on the capital weightings for bank holdings of securitisation, EIOPA published on December 19th its report on capital requirements for insurance companies under Solvency II. This last document (to be found here) represents a very mixed result for securitisation. On the one hand, following a request from the European Commission to revisit it original proposals, EIOPA has sought - in the new document - to define a category of […]

Read

19/12/2013

Basel Committee publishes its new consultative document on securitisation

Today, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published its new consultation document on the capital treatment of securitisation. This follows upon the numerous comments made by the industry and various stakeholders on the proposals made by the Basel Committee following the last consultation of December 2012. The consultative period ends on 21st March 2014. The document may be found here.

Read

18/12/2013

European Parliament proposes positive amendments to the draft money market funds legislation

The complete set of amendments proposed by members of the European Parliament to the draft money market funds legislation has just been published. As readers will recall, the original draft was extremely restrictive as to the types of securitisations that could be purchased by MMFs - basically short dated corporate loans. A number of key MEPs have now tabled amendments. Particularly notable were the extension of the types of securitisations that MMFs could purchase proposed by Jean-Paul Gauzes, Wolf Klinz and Sharon Bowles. All three amendments request ESMA to define the types of securitisations that MMFs can invest in. Especially […]

Read

18/12/2013

Two publications from the EBA on securitisation - one set of final draft technical rules and a consultation

Yesterday was a busy day for the European Banking Authority on the securitisation front with the publication of two paper. First, they published their final draft regulatory technical standards on securitisation retention rules and related requirements (together with final draft technical standards on the convergence of supervisory practices related to the implementation of additional risk weights in the case of non-compliance with the retention rules). Secondly, it published a public consultation on draft guidelines for assessing significant risk transfer for securitisation transactions. These guidelines are to be part of the EU Single Rulebook in the banking sector. The public consultation runs until […]

Read

13/12/2013

Financial Times publishes a letter on securitisation from AFME

Today's Financial Times contains a letter from Simon Lewis, Chief Executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, setting out the conditions for a return of securitisation in Europe. PCS is explicitly cited. The letter may be found here (behind a paywall)

Read

11/12/2013

Strongest support yet from the Bank of England for a return of securitisation

In a front page article appearing in today's Financial Times, Andy Haldane from the Bank of England expressed strong support for securitisation. Both the statements and the tone are significant in that, following Mark Carney's support a few weeks ago, they move the Bank of England from a "neutral" position toward securitisation - recognising that it can be done well and safely - to a "positive" position - extolling the benefits that it can bring, when done well and safely. This is a thoughtful piece and a key moment in the rehabilitation of securitisation. The article may be found here.

Read

10/12/2013

Euromoney article looking back at 2013 - PCS is quoted

Today, Euromoney published its review of 2013 for European securitisation with its outlook for 2014. It picks up on the themes of the continued regulatory uncertainty and PCS is quoted. The article may be found here.

Read

29/11/2013

Bank of England Financial Stability Report indicates support for securitisation

In its November Financial Stability Report, the Bank of England has expressed strong support for securitisation as a financing channel. It has expressed the desire to see a return of a securitisation market and has identified temporary reasons and possible structural reasons for the weakness of existing issuance. PCS strongly agrees with the identified temporary reasons - deleveraging, central bank liquidity, regulatory uncertainty and a lingering stigma against the product from some investors. PCS also notes the tentative identification of structural impediments to a return of the market: lack of standardisation of documents and structures, difficulties in modelling and the […]

Read

28/11/2013

The Financial Times calls for a reduction in the "free money" programs of the ECB mentioning the securitisation markets as a prime victim

In today's Financial Times, an opinion piece by Patrick Jenkins calls for the dramatic scaling down of the LTRO and other very loose monetary programs of the ECB. The article specifically ties the aenemic state of the European securitisation market to the availability of cheap central bank funds. This reflects the views strongly expressed by, amongst others, PCS. The full article may be found here (please note it lies behind a paywall).

Read

14/11/2013

EBRD and ING Asset Management join PCS

At the recent general meeting of the PCS Association, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a Permanent Observer of the PCS Association. Also, ING Asset Management joined the Association as a member. We welcome both organisations.

Read

13/11/2013

In a draft report on long-term financing, the European Parliament recognises the importance of securitisation and calls for a definition of "high quality securitisation"

In its draft report on long-term financing of the European economy the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has made key positive statements regarding securitisation and called for a definition of "high quality securitisation". In particular, the report stated: the Committee "believes that securitisation can play an important role in financial intermediation; encourages efforts to securitise high-quality assets while avoiding structures of high complexity; notes that there is scope for more standardisation and transparency; calls on the Commission to follow closely the activities of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions-Financial Stability Board working group on securitisation and to develop a […]

Read

06/11/2013

Another Financial Times article indicating the return of investor appetite for European securitisation

On November 3rd, the Financial Times ran an article entitled: "Asset-backed paper:too much, too soon?". Despite its ambiguous title, the thrust of the article is that investors are showing renewed interest for the European securitisation market. The article mentions the excellent credit performance of European ABS but also draws attention to the impact on issuance of very loose monetary policy by central banks. The article may be found here (please note it lies behind a paywall)

Read

31/10/2013

The key challenges for the European securitisation market as seen by PCS

In an interview for the Italian Bankers Association (ABI), Ian Bell, Head of the PCS Secretariat, outlined the key challenge for the European securitisation market today: with the current central banks' ultra-loose monetary policies, there is an absence of issuance not investors. The full interview may be found here.

Read

31/10/2013

EBA's LCR approach to ABS is coming under fire

Following the October 23rd public hearing held by the EBA on the liquidity cover ratios (LCRs), the authority's approach to ABS seems to be coming under a growing amount of public criticism. This can be seen, for example, in this article published by Euroweek here.

Read

28/10/2013

Timely Standard & Poor's report entitled: "European Securitization Could Fund More Lending, If The Regulatory Stance Softens"

After a week that saw a clear indications from the Bank of England of a desire to rebuild securitisation but also very negative signalling from the EBA as to the position of securitisation in the liquidity rule, Standard & Poor's has published a timely article highlighting the divergence between the flow of regulatory developments and policy makers' intentions to see securitisation play a positive role in the European economy. Entitled "Underwriting The Recovery: European Securitization Could Fund More Lending, If The Regulatory Stance Softens", the article speaks to the improving image of securitisation but the crucial importance of the regulatory […]

Read

25/10/2013

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England sees the Bank engaged in efforts to rebuild securitisation

In a speech given in London at an event to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Financial Times, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England outlined what he saw as the tasks of the Bank in the coming years. "Accordingly, I will concentrate today on three core elements of the Bank of England’s new Financial Stability strategy: creating resilient global banks, building robust markets and conducting central banking for global markets. These initiatives support a fourth leg of our strategy: improving the supply of finance in the UK. You will hear more about supply-side initiatives, aimed for example at rebuilding securitisation and supporting […]

Read

24/10/2013

EBA presentation on LCR

As indicated in yesterday's News item, the EBA had undertaken to place their presentation on LCRs at the public hearing on their website. This has now been done and the presentations may be found here.

« Previous 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 Next »