Winter may have been late in arriving for many of us, but we are already looking forward to Spring. With 20-25 inches of snow from #Snowzilla2016, it was a tremendous storm, but it was not tremendous enough to overwhelm our efforts to bring forth some new insights and courses for 2016.
As developments continue to evolve in the regulatory, compliance, and T+2 settlement arenas, GFMI has created new classes in order to keep your employees updated and in touch with what’s coming down the pike. We are proud to announce two new one-day programs to help our clients stay in the know on these evolving developments:
- Exchanges and Clearance/Settlement Overview
- Migration to T+2 Settlement
Both programs are available in traditional ILT, which is delivered on site in an engaging interactive class. You can also download our complete Course Catalog, which is NEW for 2016.
And to complement our learning outreach, we’ve also introduced Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) to better address the needs of our clients who need and want flexible, live instruction. Are you short on space, time, or getting everyone in one room? Simple! Use our VILT delivery, and achieve the same live instructor-participant interaction virtually, without travel time or costs. With VILT delivery, the classes are delivered in several short segments. Stay tuned to this blog and our website for more information on this instructional methodology.
New Article on Credit Risk Transfer
Together with Rob McDonough, I’ve co-written an article, The Long and the Short of It: An Overview of STACR and CAS, that focuses on the credit risk transfer notes issued by the GSEs, Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC). As another regulatory development, in response to the Dodd-Frank Act, we are presenting a helpful illustration on how these STACRs and CAS issues are structured, as well as highlighting the differences between the two.
Origin of STACR and CAS Credit Risk Transfer Notes
As I shared before, these notes are part of a Dodd-Frank Act mandate to reduce the credit risk undertaken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the residential mortgage lending markets and to protect taxpayers from potential loss. The notes can also be viewed as part of the agencies’ overall funding strategy. The notes are unsecured IOU’s on which Fannie and Freddie are legally obligated to pay principal and interest. However, credit losses, and therefore eventual repayment, are based on a specific reference pool of mortgages that the agencies have purchased and are holding on their balance sheets. Since the notes derive their value from the cash flows associated with a reference pool of credit-risky assets, they are considered to be credit-linked notes (CLNs).
Interested in Learning More about Credit Risk Transfer Notes?
If you’d like to know more about these Credit Risk Transfer notes, just give us a call or email us. We’re here to address your questions and help with your learning initiatives.
