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ARTICLE · 29 JULY 2013

ERISA Exemptions For ABS And MBS Amended

Mayer Brown
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The US Department of Labor (the "DOL") has issued individual exemptions (the "Underwriter Exemptions") under ERISA to a number of institutions that serve as underwriters or placement agents for asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities.

United StatesFinance and Banking
Lennine Occhino
Lennine Occhino
Erika Gosker
Erika Gosker
Elizabeth Dyer
Elizabeth Dyer
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Keywords: DOL, underwriter exemptions, ERISA, mortgage-backed securities, rating

The US Department of Labor (the "DOL") has issued individual exemptions (the "Underwriter Exemptions") under ERISA to a number of institutions that serve as underwriters or placement agents for asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. The Underwriter Exemptions provide relief from ERISA's prohibited transaction provisions for the initial purchase, holding and subsequent resale of certain investment grade mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities by ERISA-governed investors. The Underwriter Exemptions apply only if specific conditions are met, including that the securities received a rating that is in one of the three (four, in the case of certain mortgage- and auto loan-backed securities) highest generic rating categories from a "rating agency" (previously defined by reference to S&P, Moody's, Fitch and DBRS).  

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