On April 2, 2009, the Financial Advisors committee hosted a panel at the ABI Annual Spring Meeting on "Coping with Recent Changes in the Economy and Workout Environment."
Panelists included Tom Donnelly (UBS; Stamford, Conn.), Mike Logan (Sun Trust; Atlanta) and Mark Manski (Barclays Capital; New York), who discussed a variety of topics including:
- industry trends
- exit strategies
- lender group dynamics
- mid-market vs. large syndicated loans
- activity levels
We are now concentrating on filling our final committee leadership position, Listserve Facilitator, and all committee members are invited to consider this opportunity. The main responsibility of the Listserve Facilitator is to encourage the use of the listserve as a means to share ideas and information among the members of the committee. Facilitators are tasked to initiate discussions by posting a question or observation on a topic relevant to the committee. Doing so shows committee members how easy it is to do and how valuable a resource it is to have the input of a group of similarly-focused professionals. The Listserve Facilitator is not responsible for any administrative duties regarding the list.
If you are interested in a more active role at ABI, please contact committee co-chairs Jerry Shapiro at gerald.shapiro@crgpartners.com or Stephen Gray at stephen.gray@crgpartners.com.
Did you miss the Financial Advisors Committee session at the Annual Spring Meeting or do you want to hear the discussion again? Recordings of all committee sessions held during the Annual Spring Meeting can now be accessed online at http://asm09.abiworld.org or click here to go directly to the Financial Advisors recording!
The Claro Group; New York
At its core, the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program makes mortgage servicing the lynchpin of a new process that looks to modify and refinance millions of delinquent and underwater mortgage loans. The administration is attempting to incentivize servicers to be both proactive in soliciting modifications and to collect sufficient verifiable information to reunderwrite a borrower's credit in order to modify the existing loan. The plan provides for an annual incentive payment to the mortgage servicer provided the modified loan remains current.
The plan is consistent with an urgent need to transform the existing servicing loan model from one that is high-volume, requiring minimal contact with the borrower-where the principal metrics of efficiency include loans serviced per employee and average monthly cost to service- to a new model in which a significant portion of the loans are serviced in a diametrically different manner.
Read the full article.
Ocean Park Advisors; Los Angeles
The U.S. biofuels industry-both ethanol and biodiesel-are well into a full-scale restructuring. Many companies are sitting idle, struggling with limited cash, ceasing operations, evaluating restructuring options or selling assets. Few, if any, players are prospering in the current environment.
This article reviews the recent, short-lived building boom, surveys the current state of the industry, assesses how the industry ended up in this situation, outlines a rationale for future growth and maps out the road ahead.
Read the full article.
