Industry Standards

I helped draft letters from CREFC, MBA and MISMO to the SEC commenting on the proposed Regulation AB changes. The letters were filed Aug. 2. While all of them supported the concept of transparency, none of them proposed a data list to actually achieve transparency.

So I also wrote my own letter.

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With great fanfare today, President Obama signed the financial reform bill into law. Many times over the past several months, I thought this legislation would die, but this is a big, important deal. And now the law is clear: Transparency is required for securitized products.

The big question is whether the SEC enacts rules and regulations to actually bring about transparency.

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I am just returning from New York City where I attended MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference 2010. Most of the major master, special and primary servicers attended. The proposed SEC changes to Regulation AB were discussed at almost every panel.

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In addition to the rating agency rules that go into effect on June 2, the SEC has asked for public comment on extensive changes to SEC securitization rules, known as Regulation AB.

I am actively participating in developing both the MBA/MISMO and the CREFC responses to the proposed changes. This process provides a forum to promote the adoption of XML standards, which I am also actively participating in. Below is my summary of where we are with our current disclosure levels, what the industry goal should be, and a recommendation for a solution.

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I attended the CREFC After-Work Seminar - SEC Disclosure Requirements this week on the new SEC rule (Rule 17g-5) that goes into effect June 2. The rule is designed to address the perceived conflict of interest that rating agencies have as a result of issuers paying for ratings.

The rule requires issuers and hired rating agencies to maintain password-protected websites to share rating information with non-hired rating agencies.

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