Sector developments and company hires

Advancing assistance mooted
Ginnie Mae is tailoring the existing disaster pass-through assistance programmes to more suitably scale to the needs of mortgage issuers in response to the Covid-19 liquidity squeeze (SCI 30 March). The GSE anticipates implementing within the next two weeks - via an All Participants Memorandum (APM) - a Pass-Through Assistance Program (PTAP), through which issuers with a P&I shortfall may request that Ginnie Mae advance the difference between available funds and the scheduled payment to investors. This PTAP will be effective immediately for single-family programme issuers, with corresponding changes made to Ginnie Mae’s MBS Guide in due course. The GSE anticipates publishing PTAP terms for HMBS (reverse mortgage) and multifamily issuers shortly thereafter. In return for any payments advanced under the PTAP, issuers will be required to repay the advance within a specified time period, subject to extension requests.

Strategic agreements
Angel Oak Capital Advisors has entered into a strategic distribution partnership with Bury Street Capital, a capital-raising and placement agency, to expand its international outreach efforts in structured credit. Through the new partnership, Bury Street plans to bolster its distribution efforts by growing its employee head count, and to expand efforts in Latin America and Asia by targeting an array of institutional investors and top-tier regional wealth managers. Angel Oak will work closely with Bury Street to strengthen the marketing of its investment solutions in these regions.

Ares Management Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have reached a strategic agreement to collaborate on future business opportunities. As part of this agreement, SMBC will make a US$384m equity investment in the publicly traded shares of Ares Class A common stock, equivalent to a 4.9% stake in the firm. Together, Ares and SMBC Group plan to collaborate across three highly-accretive growth areas – strategic distribution, investment opportunities (including private credit) and capital markets collaboration (including leveraged finance).