SFA’s Research Corner considers credit card ABS which, unlike other asset classes, are tied to the prime rate and are particularly sensitive to the Fed’s rate hikes. Credit card debt is nearing a record $1 trillion, up 15% year-over-year. Younger borrowers are mounting debt at nearly twice that rate and also pushing into delinquency at twice the rate for all age groups.

In Research Corner, we see the waiting game playing out in student loans and student loan ABS (SL ABS). Performance for post-2010 private credit SL ABS and private credit refinancing SL ABS has been “solid” thus far, according to the S&P Student Loan ABS newsletter. The rating agency expects adequate levels of credit enhancement on investment-grade SL ABS to “absorb deterioration and remain stable.”

Thirty-four corporate obligors whose leveraged loans are held by U.S. Corporate Loan Obligations (CLOs) were downgraded in August. This is the highest monthly number of CLO-held loan downgrades since July 2020, according to S&P’s SF Credit Brief.

New in @SCI_Newsfeed, our Head of Research Elen Callahan discusses how securitization can be a useful tool in addressing the growing wealth inequality gap.

SFA’s latest Research Corner piece examines current use of existing ESG standards within RMBS, at both the corporate level as well as at the structured finance level. The report notes that SFA members Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently provide corporate level disclosure in line with SASB disclosures.

Green auto ABS deals represented $3.5 billion of the $29 billion issuer-designated ESG securitizations in 2021. Proceeds from these deals financed the purchase of green vehicles at Tesla and Toyota, the inaugural issuers of green auto ABS deals, by financing low- or zero-GHG-emissions vehicles.

The Federal Reserve’s Z.1 data report, released on December 9, showed household net worth rose to $145 trillion and now stands 54% above its level five years ago.

Credit ratings activity has been overwhelmingly positive for the U.S. securitization market as upgrades have easily exceeded downgrades, in 2021, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Non-agency RMBS is on track to surpass $200 billion, a record for the sector. Of that total, $17 billion, or 9% of the non-agency RMBS market is backed by agency-eligible investor mortgages, according to Deutsche Bank Securitization Research.

On October 18 FHFA Acting Director Sandra L. Thompson announced that the temporary use of desktop appraisals, adopted during the Covid-19 crisis, would become a permanent option. The FHFA is also considering the risks and benefits of the increased use of appraisal waivers, up more than 6.9 times the average level in 2018, as it continues to modernize the appraisal process.