Market updates and sector developments

Bayview Asset Management has launched an Insurance Asset Management business, with the aim of appealing to an insurance industry that is increasingly seeking to diversify and expand beyond its traditional focus on corporate credit. The new division will be led by cio Nancy Mueller Handal, who formerly served as head of private fixed income and alternatives at MetLife, with oversight of approximately US$150bn of investments. She previously partnered with Bayview while building MetLife’s residential whole loan investment platform and invested across the Bayview platform as an LP.

Bayview says it is uniquely positioned to launch this new business as a leading residential loan servicer with US$620bn of owned MSRs, having purchased more than US$163bn of residential loans from over 1,000 counterparties and originated over US$123bn of residential loans since inception. In addition, the firm is a leading provider of credit protection to US banks and GSEs on residential mortgages, having executed transactions representing over US$400bn of credit risk transfer.

Alex Latella has also joined Bayview’s newly formed Insurance Asset Management division as svp responsible for business development. He was formerly a member of the Insurance Solutions team at BlackRock.

In other news…

Former Change chief of staff arrested
The Change Company has released a statement about its former chief of staff, Adam Levine, who it says has made numerous threats and allegations against the firm and its employees since he was placed on leave in March due to allegations of serious and ongoing workplace misconduct. The statement confirms that Levine was arrested last week for impersonating a police officer and that while this charge is unrelated to Change, employees of the firm are cooperating with the investigation, given “common and overlapping fact patterns” and an outstanding workplace violence restraining order (WVRO) against Levine that relates to employees of Change.

Change says it hired a third-party law firm to investigate employee allegations of misconduct leveled against Levine, as well as to investigate allegations of misconduct made by Levine relating to Change, including whistleblower allegations and a lawsuit relating to the firm’s loans, securitisations, reporting and leadership. The investigation found the allegations made against Levine were supported by a preponderance of evidence, while the allegations made by Levine were unsubstantiated.

After being put on leave because of his misconduct, Change reports that Levine began threatening the firm and several of its employees - including by threatening to go to regulators, the press and others unless Change paid him over US$6m, which has since been upped to over US$10m. On 21 April, the Superior Court of Los Angeles issued the WVRO against Levine for threats of violence made against Change’s founder Steven Sugarman, general counsel Alan Lindeke and a female employee who reported to Levine. Levine is alleged to have breached the WVRO numerous times, including by following employees to and from work and by surveilling their office.

Consistent with the arrest of Levine for impersonating a police officer, Change has been advised that Levine has approached employees of the firm wearing items labelled ‘US Marshal’ or with a “police-style” badge. The firm says it remains concerned about Levine’s ongoing erratic and threatening behaviour, and understands that he has also been accused of threatening and illegal conduct by some of his prior employers.

ICE, Black Knight ACCO inked
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Black Knight have entered into an Agreement Containing Consent Orders (ACCO) with the FTC’s Bureau of Competition regarding ICE’s pending acquisition of Black Knight (SCI 7 August). The ACCO contains an agreed form of consent order that will be submitted to the FTC for acceptance and approval.

Pursuant to the previously announced timing agreement entered into by ICE, Black Knight and the FTC, ICE is permitted to complete its acquisition of Black Knight following 11:59pm Eastern Time on the tenth calendar day after the entry into the ACCO. Accordingly, the parties expect to close the acquisition on 5 September and to complete the previously announced divestitures of Black Knight’s Empower and Optimal Blue businesses to subsidiaries of Constellation Software within 20 days thereafter.

The deadline for Black Knight stockholders to elect the form of merger consideration they wish to receive in the acquisition has been set for 5:00pm Eastern Time on 1 September.