The latest hires and company developments in the structured finance market

Canadian pension partnership

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, CPPIB Credit Investments, is broadening its portfolio through new investments in equity tranches of CLOs alongside experienced CLO asset managers. CPPIB Credit’s initial partnership in CLO equity investing will be with Sound Point Capital Management based in New York. CPPIB Credit will invest US$285mn in a newly established investment vehicle used to purchase equity in Sound Point’s CLOs over the next several years.

EBA transparency exercise

The EBA has launched its fifth annual EU-wide transparency exercise which, together with the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) will culminate in December 2018 with the release of 900,000 data points on EU banks, covering capital positions, risk exposure amounts, sovereign exposures and asset quality as well as information on non-performing exposures and securitisation.

Europe

Cairn Capital has hired Chris Cottrell as a senior investment analyst, based in London. Chris will focus on specialty finance and risk transfer and report to portfolio manager, Brandon Kufrin. Prior to joining Cairn Capital, Chris was a vp at Direct Lending Investments. The firm has also has hired Mark Stieler as head of fundamental credit research. Stieler was previously an associate director at GE Capital. Additionally, Cairn Capital has hired Tina De Baere as head of ESG and macro strategy, hiring her from New Bond Street Asset where she was an ABS credit analyst.

Cromwell Property Group has promoted Gwendal Kalkofen to head of real estate finance in Europe. Previously, Kalkofen was capital markets manager at Valad Europe, part of Cromwell Property Group.

ILS

Blackstone has hired Tsana Nobles and Molly Sheinberg with Nobles becoming chief risk officer while Sheinberg will lead Blackstone Insurance Solutions (BIS). Nobles was previously head of global strategy investments at XL Catlin and Sheinberg was a former executive director at J.P. Morgan. Nobles will be responsible for assessing investment and insurance risk while Sheinberg is to lead BIS marketing efforts.

Hiscox has promoted Andrew Dolphin to coo and appointed him to the Hiscox Re & ILS executive team, after leading the whole of the Hiscox Re International teams in London, Paris and Bermuda. He will be based out of London and report to Mike Krefta, ceo of Hiscox Re & ILS.

Kinstellar has hired Denise Hamer to the firm as special counsel. Hamer will join with partners across the firm on the development of Kinstellar’s finance, private equity, NPLs and distressed assets, restructuring and related practices. Prior to joining Kinstellar, Hamer was finance partner with DLA Piper.

Leadenhall Capital Partners has hired Sam Maynard as a senior non-life ILS analyst who will join the firm from Markel International. Maynard has spent just over four years at Markel International, most recently working as an underwriter in the North American property treaty reinsurance team. He will report to Ben Adolph, head of non-life portfolio management at Leadenhall.

Italian NPLs sold

AnaCapFinancial Partners has acquired €225m of Italian non-performing loans across two separate portfolios. A €141m NPL secured portfolio was acquired from Volksbank, primarily comprising SME loans, the majority of which are backed by property in Northern Italy. The second €84m portfolio was acquired from Banca di Pisa e Fornacette Credito Cooperativo and also consists of predominantly secured SME loans, largely collateralised by real estate in Tuscany. Phoenix Asset Management will be appointed special servicer for both portfolios.

LLD reporting solution

European DataWarehouse (ED) has launched a new reporting solution that enables users to prepare and submit ABS loan-level data, investor report data and relevant documentation in compliance with the disclosure requirements of Article 7 of the Securitisation Regulation (EU) 2017/2402. The solution is integrated into EDitor, ED’s web application for the analysis and upload of loan-level data (LLD). The first release of the reporting solution – which supports auto ABS exposures – allows the creation of test deals and the uploading of test files in line with ESMA’s templates published on 22 August (SCI 24 August). Further templates will be rolled out once ESMA releases the final XML schemata. 

NRSRO rule amended

The US SEC has proposed rule amendments to codify an existing temporary exemption to Rule 17g-5(a)(3) for credit rating agencies registered as NRSROs and clarify the exemption’s conditions. Rule 17g-5(a)(3) established a programme to provide information necessary to determine a structured finance product’s credit rating to NRSROs that were not hired by the issuer, sponsor or underwriter of the product. Prior to the compliance date for the rule, the Commission granted a temporary conditional exemption for certain structured finance products issued by non-US persons and offered and sold outside the US, and subsequently extended it. The public comment period will remain open for 30 days, following publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register.

US

Freddie Mac has promoted Robert Koontz to svp, overseeing the firm’s reorganised mulitifamily capital markets department, which has merged with multifamily investments and advisory and multifamily research and modeling. In his new role, Koontz will oversee these areas, while continuing his core responsibilities, including pricing, structuring, investor relations and sales, and securitisation. He has been with Freddie Mac since 2008, working within its first multifamily structured finance team.

Halcyon Capital Management has appointed Philip Raciti as head of US performing credit and portfolio manager. Raciti will be based in New York and report to cio Jason Dillow and head of credit Brian Yorke. Raciti will focus on the day-to-day management of the US senior loan portfolios for the firm across both CLOs and separately managed accounts. Previously, Raciti was a senior md and portfolio manager at CVC Credit Partners.