Federal Banking Agencies Issue Warnings and Guidance Concerning Asset Securitizations
The four federal banking agencies issued an advisory (the "Advisory") about unsafe and unsound covenants in asset securitizations and also published questions and answers (the "Guidance") concerning a recently effective rule about the capital treatment of recourse, direct credit substitutes and residual interests in asset securitizations (the "Securitization Rule") discussed in the December 4, 2001 Alert.
Advisor
y. The Advisory warns banks and thrifts about the safety and soundness implications of covenants in securitizations that cite supervisory thresholds or adverse supervisory actions as triggers for early amortization events or the transfer of servicing. Examples of these covenants include, but are not limited to: (1) the downgrade of a composite CAMELS or BOPEC rating to a 3 or 4, (2) the notification by a regulator that the institution is no longer deemed "well-capitalized," and (3) the