Sector developments and company hires

Debt service reserve guarantee provided

Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc (AGE) has issued a £135m, five-year Debt Service Reserve (DSR) Guarantee to benefit Dwr Cymru (Financing) Limited and Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig, both companies forming part of the Welsh Water group. The guarantee provided by AGE will replace the existing liquidity facilities provided by banks within the Welsh Water group’s securitisation structure. AGE’s guarantee was structured to fit within Dwr Cymru (Financing) Limited’s existing securitisation documents and covers certain senior payment obligations due to bondholders and other senior creditors.

Europe

Man GLG, the investment management arm of Man Group, has hired Kaushik Rambhiya as pm within its credit business. He will be responsible for long-short strategies focussed on Asian and emerging market credit within Man GLG’s global credit multi strategy. He joins from Aventicum Capital Management where he was chair of the investment committee and lead pm.

GSE reform memo issued

President Trump has issued a memo on Federal Housing Finance Reform declaring that the housing finance system is in “urgent need of reform” and directing officials to develop a plan for administrative and legislative reform. Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) acting director Joseph Otting, and housing secretary Ben Carson were among the memo recipients since the effort includes the GSEs and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – among others.

The memorandum highlights the administration’s priorities and lays out four broad housing reform goals with respect to the GSEs. These reform goals include, ending the conservatorships of the GSEs upon the completion of specified reforms, facilitating competition in the housing finance market, establishing regulation of the GSEs that safeguards their safety and soundness and minimizes the risks they pose to the financial stability of the United States, and providing that the Federal Government is properly compensated for any explicit or implicit support it provides to the GSEs or the secondary housing finance market.

ILS

Kristina Maffit has been hired as vp, property reinsurance for Brit Global Specialty Bermuda, based out of Brit’s Bermuda office. Maffit will manage the property reinsurance underwriting team, writing US cat business on behalf of Brit’s Lloyd’s syndicates. She joins from alternative investment manager Elementum where she spent six years as a portfolio management associate, specialising in collateralised natural catastrophe reinsurance investments.