North America
Anthony Orso has joined NKF Capital Markets as president of capital markets strategies. Orso will support the integration of Berkeley Point Capital with ARA, two companies recently acquired by NKF Capital Markets, an affiliate of the Newmark Group. He will work closely with Jeff Day, ceo of Berkeley Point Capital and Blake Okland, vice chairman and head of US multifamily. In addition, with NKF Capital Markets' investment in CCRE, Orso will act as its liaison with Cantor Fitzgerald's CMBS business, as well as advise the company on its strategic approach to its third-party debt business. Orso was the co-Founder and ceo of CCRE, which he built into a fully integrated commercial real estate debt platform. Over the course of his career, he has completed more than US$250bn in real estate financings.

EMEA
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) announces it has appointed Andrew Sykes as a non-executive director with effect from 21 March 2018. Sykes also serves as chairman of Smith & Williamson Holdings, having served on the board since 2004, and is a non-executive director of Gulf International Bank, where he serves as chairman of audit and risk oversight committee. He was chairman of SVG Capital until last year, having served on the board since 2010, and as Chairman since 2012.

Acquisitions
AXA is set to acquire XL Group for US$15.3bn in cash, equating to XL Group shareholders receiving US$57.60 per share, a premium of 33% to XL Group's closing share price on 2 March 2018. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined operations of XL Group, AXA Corporate Solutions and AXA Art will be led by Greg Hendrick - currently the president and coo of XL Group - who will be appointed ceo of the combined entity and join AXA Group's management committee, reporting to AXA Group ceo Thomas Buberl. Mike McGavick, XL Group's current ceo, will become vice-chairman of the combined P&C commercial lines operations and special adviser to Buberl.

Arrow Global has agreed on two acquisitions which strengthen the group's investment and asset management capabilities and reinforce its growing presence in Italy. The first is for Europa Investimenti, a leading originator and manager of Italian distressed debt investments, for an equity value of €62m. While the core Europa business is not regulated, due to Europa owning a 74% stake in an Italian real estate fund management company, Vegagest SGR, the transaction is subject to a regulatory change of control approval by the Bank of Italy and is expected to complete in mid-2018. Europa's Milan-based team will add approximately 35 employees to the group. The second is for 100% of Parr Credit, a leading Rome-based servicer of Italian NPLs for an equity value of €20m. There are no regulatory approvals required for the transaction and the acquisition will complete today. The acquisitions will be funded in cash from existing group resources and are expected to be broadly earnings neutral in 2018 and marginally accretive in 2019. The acquisitions are expected to increase the weighting of capital-light asset management revenues, which as at 31 December 2017 account for 22% of the group's total revenues. Parr's Rome-based team will add approximately 200 employees to the group.

Fiera Capital has acquired Clearwater Capital Partners, an Asia-focused credit and special situations investment firm. Headquartered in Hong Kong, Clearwater is a privately held employee-owned asset manager with US$1.4bn AUM. Clearwater's assets will be added to Fiera Capital's private alternative investments division, complementing the firm's existing suite of private alternative investment strategies and adding extensive investment experience and depth through offices and teams across the Asia-Pacific region.

Hercules Capital has acquired Gibraltar Business Capital, a provider of working capital to small and mid-market businesses through Gibraltar's asset-based loan and factoring solutions. Gibraltar will be held as a portfolio company of Hercules. Gibraltar will continue to operate as an independent senior secured asset-based lender to select small and mid-market businesses and operate under the Gibraltar Business Capital brand. Gibraltar and all its existing employees will remain at its headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois.

RMAC MWPs introduced
Clifden IOM No.1 has rejected the tenders of notes it received and withdrawn the offers made in respect of the RMAC 2003-NS1, 2003-NS2, 2004-NS1 and 2004-NSP2 RMBS (SCI 12 January). At the same time, it has introduced make-whole provisions (MWPs) across all outstanding notes issued by RMAC 2003-NS3, 2003-NS4, 2004-NS3, 2004-NSP4, 2005-NS1, 2005-NSP2, 2005-NS3 and 2005-NS4, eight classes of which have seen 100% tenders. The firm has also extended the early tender and expiration deadlines for five RMAC deals. Clifden notes that the MWPs are not materially prejudicial to noteholders, nor do they prevent Paratus AMC exercising optional redemptions in respect of the notes or purchasing the underlying mortgages. Bernoulli Holdings has agreed to indemnify noteholder trustees in respect of certain liabilities, costs and expenses that may be incurred in connection with the implementation of the MWPs. Nevertheless, Paratus AMC says these actions would cause it significant loss as holder of the deferred consideration and residual certificates in the affected securitisations and warns that noteholders may be held liable for any loss caused by Clifden acting as their agent. Paratus AMC had previously stated that the exercise of its optional redemption rights in respect of the notes conferred contractual rights on it, making any interference with the sale of the mortgage loans unlawful. Meanwhile, the issuers have stated that they remain obliged to redeem the notes on 12 March and that they have requested but not received any proof of holding from Clifden or sufficient proof that it has been appointed by noteholders to execute the written resolution on their behalf.

RMBS settlement
RBS has agreed a US$500m settlement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over its misrepresentations to investors in connection with the packaging, marketing, sale and issuance of RMBS leading up to the financial crisis. The settlement includes US$100m in cash to New York State and US$400m worth of consumer relief for New York homeowners and communities, including funds for the construction of more affordable housing. As part of the settlement, RBS admits that it sold investors RMBS backed by mortgage loans that, contrary to its representations, did not materially comply with underwriting guidelines or with applicable laws and regulations. The bank is the sixth large financial institution to settle with Attorney General Schneiderman since he was appointed co-chair of the RMBS Working Group in 2012 and brings the total cash and consumer relief secured by him in the aftermath of the financial crisis to US$3.7bn.

Data partnership
Thomson Reuters and DealVector have partnered to integrate access to DealVector identity-protected messaging capabilities with Thomson Reuters loan pricing corporation (LPC) desktop products. The integration will enable LPC clients viewing CLO and loan data to connect to holders of those specific assets.

Sustainable action plan
On the basis of the recommendations set out by the High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on sustainable finance (SCI 6 February), the European Commission has set out a roadmap to boost the role of finance in achieving a well-performing economy that delivers on environmental and social goals as well. The Action Plan on sustainable finance is part of the Capital Markets Union initiative and includes: establishing a unified EU classification system for sustainable investment; creating EU labels for green financial products; clarifying the duty of asset managers and institutional investors to take sustainability into account; enhancing transparency in corporate reporting; and incorporating sustainability in prudential requirements. The Commission says it will explore the feasibility of recalibrating capital requirements for banks for sustainable investments, when it is justified from a risk perspective, while ensuring that financial stability is safeguarded.

Debussy downgrade
DBRS has downgraded its rating on the Debussy DTC class A notes to single-B from double-B (low) and maintained its negative trend on the rating, reflecting the expected value decline of the portfolio following the insolvency of sole tenant Toys R Us. DBRS's new value assumption is £191m, which represents a 2.5% haircut to the most recent vacant possession value of £196m. A company voluntary arrangement has been voted through, resulting in the rent payment from the OpCo switching to monthly and being reduced. Consequently, the projected ICR covenant ratio was breached and not remedied, triggering a loan EOD and transfer to special servicing (see SCI's CMBS loan events database). S&P last month lowered its rating on the transaction to double-B minus from triple-B, following the CVA.

RFC on NPL management
The EBA has launched a consultation on its guidelines for credit institutions on how to effectively manage non-performing exposures and forborne exposures (FBEs), which are designed to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly at every stage of the loan lifecycle. The guidelines specify sound risk management practices for managing NPEs and FBEs, including the governance and operations of an NPE workout framework, the internal control framework and NPE monitoring, as well as early warning processes. The consultation asks for views on the threshold for assessing high NPE banks and the viability of forbearance measures, and sets out requirements for the assessment of NPE management activity as part of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). The consultation runs until 8 June and a public hearing will take place at the EBA premises on 25 April.