Deflationary forces, central bank policy measures, and ‘Brexit’ fears pushed sovereign bond yields to record lows. In the Eurozone, the 10-year Bund closed into negative territory for the first time. The market value of all bonds trading at negative rates now exceeds $8 Tn.
Here in the US, the 10-year bond has tightened to ~1.6% - levels not seen since May 2013.
Consumer lending rates, including mortgages, auto, and personal loans have also declined. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.59%. According to
Bankrate, rates on personal loans fell 7 bps from the prior week to 10.94% and are down 60 bps from their 2016 high.
Yields on marketplace lending bonds have also
tightened substantially reflecting the strong demand for exposure to the unsecured consumer credit risk.
A Disconnect Between Capital Markets and Whole Loan Markets
Relative value traders serve as the arbitrageurs who force prices across related tradable fixed income assets in equilibrium. For instance, as Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) bonds in the secondary market are bid up, relative value traders will step in and buy high yield loans that are deemed cheaper, and, in turn, push the credit spread tighter. The forces of arbitrage also work in reverse; namely, as high yield loan prices gyrate downward, CLO bonds will be priced lower.
However, despite the tightening of MPL bonds and lowering of rates across the consumer lending space, originators in the marketplace lending market are bucking favorable interest rate tailwinds and are
increasing rates to attract whole loan institutional investors. Pricing in the whole loan market remains segmented from pricing in the ABS bond market.
Distribution challenges ranging from the administrative hurdles associated with whole loans, limited warehousing infrastructure, lack of standardized reps and warrants, a lack of standardizing pricing and valuation tools, are some of the impediments to efficiently transferring risk to institutional investors.
Investors that can step in and transform pools of whole loans into tradeable ABS or CUSIPs stand to earn attractive economics due to dislocation between the two markets. Platforms and originators that can develop programs to efficiently distribute risk to whole loan and ABS investors can offer lower rates to borrowers and enjoy a competitive advantage.
Conferences:
- On June 27th, CEO Ram Ahluwalia, will have a fireside chat with students and Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School, former chair of Council of Economic Advisors and co-Chair of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation.
- PeerIQ will speak on a panel at AltLend 2016 on July 13-14 in New York. PeerIQ guests will receive a 35% discount off of the standard rate. Email info@www.peeriq.com with any inquiries.
- PeerIQ will be in Miami for the ABS East Conference September 16-18.
Industry Update:
PeerIQ Mentions:
Lighter Fare: