Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Covered bonds to bail out troubled US housing market

Four of the largest banks in America, together with the U.S. Treasury, are planning to launch a new investment vehicle in an effort to revive a slumping housing market. The four banks, namely, the Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, said on Monday (July 28) that they will be issuing covered bonds soon. They estimated that the issuance might reach US$1-trillion.

Covered bonds are widely used in Europe. They are secured by pools of assets like home loans. Unlike mortgage securities that pass all the risk to investors, covered bonds continue to perform even if the mortgages backing them default for as long as the bank remains solvent since covered bond loans stay on the balance sheet of the issuing bank, which mean that they are obligations on the bank. On the other hand, the issuing bank retains control of the assets that back the loans, normally high-quality home mortgages in good credit standing.

Meanwhile, in a related development, troubled investment bank Merill Lynch & Co. announced this week that it will take a US$5.7-billion write-down on the 3rd quarter. In a sign how troubled the investment bank's debt holdings have become, it has agreed to a fire sale of its US$30.6-billion collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to an affiliate Lone Star Funds for merely US$6.7-billion. The deal only shows how big the impact is of the subprime crisis to major banking industries.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for your information! I really liked it.

Anonymous said...

Hey! My brother has recommended me to have a look at your site. And I’d like to say that I really like what you’re providing here.

Anonymous said...

I know this site offers quality based posts and additional material, is
there any other web page which presents these kinds of information in quality?
Here is my web blog ... advance loan

Anonymous said...

Can I simply just say what a comfort to discover someone that truly understands what they're discussing on the net. You actually realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people must read this and understand this side of your story. It's surprising you are not more popular given that you certainly
possess the gift.
Here is my web site ; us fast cash

Anonymous said...

Good blog post. I absolutely appreciate this website.
Thanks!
Feel free to visit my webpage Unitedcashloans.com

Anonymous said...

Hey terrific blog! Does running a blog like this require
a large amount of work? I have absolutely no
understanding of programming however I was hoping to
start my own blog soon. Anyway, if you have any suggestions or techniques for new blog owners please share.
I understand this is off topic however I simply had to ask.
Kudos!
Feel free to surf my site ; unsecured loan bankruptcy

Anonymous said...

An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been conducting a little research on this.

And he in fact bought me dinner because I discovered it for him.
.. lol. So let me reword this.... Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to talk about this issue here
on your site.
Here is my site - payday loans No fax

Anonymous said...

Excellent write-up. I definitely love this website.
Thanks!
Review my blog topolor.com

Anonymous said...

It's impressive that you are getting ideas from this paragraph as well as from our dialogue made here.
Look at my website : hamp loan modification

Anonymous said...

Highly energetic post, I liked that a lot. Will there be a part 2?
My web site ; cash untill payday loans

Anonymous said...

Hi! I could have sworn I've visited this site before but after going through many of the posts I realized it's new to me.
Anyways, I'm certainly delighted I came across it and I'll
be book-marking it and checking back regularly!
Have a look at my web site - advance Loan

Anonymous said...

An interesting discussion is worth comment. There's no doubt that that you should publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people do not speak about such topics. To the next! Kind regards!!
My webpage - cash loans

Anonymous said...

Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my
newest twitter updates. I've been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
all scott tucker furniture designer myspace never scott tucker construction
Take a look at my website :: together scott tucker construction fort worth

Anonymous said...

Nice replies in return of this difficulty with real arguments and telling the whole thing concerning that.
Also visit my webpage advance loans

Anonymous said...

Hi there! This post could not be written any better! Going through this article reminds me
of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this.

I most certainly will forward this information to him. Fairly
certain he's going to have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!
Also visit my site :: cheap payday loans

Anonymous said...

Howdy! I just would like to give you a huge thumbs up for the excellent info you have right here on this post.

I am coming back to your web site for more soon.
Here is my web site :: find lender

Anonymous said...

Thanks very nice blog!
My site ameriloan payday loans

Anonymous said...

Hi to every body, it's my first go to see of this blog; this weblog includes remarkable and actually excellent stuff in support of visitors.
My blog post :: payday advance