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Underwriting losses in the U.S. P&C personal lines segment moved higher for the fourth straight year in 2017, though this time another segment drove the increase.

Personal lines are the largest major segment in the P&C industry representing 55% of industry net written premiums. The industry statutory personal lines combined ratio rose to 103.8% in

Secured lenders have seen the value of their collateral deteriorate in recent years. The examples of J.Crew, Claire's, and most recently, PetSmart, draw attention to provisions that enable leakage of potentially valuable collateral. Consequently, lenders have addressed relevant provisions in debt documentation for new transactions.

PetSmart's

Fitch Ratings says the 'AAA' ratings of covered bonds' issued by major UK banks are resilient to a deterioration in their environment, notably from Brexit. They benefit from a large cushion against a downgrade of the banks' Issuer Default Ratings (IDR), low maturity mismatches, significant over-collateralisation (OC) buffers and high quality

While national home prices in the U.S. remain strong, areas of overheating are surfacing across the country with Las Vegas topping the list of overvalued housing markets, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest quarterly U.S. RMBS sustainable home price report.

National home prices started 2018 on an up-note with a 7% annualized growth rate in

Some Russian regions are not financially capable of maintaining their 2018 FIFA World Cup facilities in the long run and this could become a credit risk, Fitch Ratings says. However, infrastructure, especially roads and airports, constructed for the World Cup should improve economic growth potential and a rise in tourism will result in small

The 2014 vintage U.S. CLOs have accumulated noticeably high cash balances as compared with other vintages with tighter collateral quality tests posing challenges to reinvestment. Of the 10-top cash-holding 2014 vintages, all were failing their weighted average life (WAL) tests, and all but one were also failing on their weighted average spread (WAS

The recent volatility of the Turkish lira has limited immediate negative impact on the majority of rated non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs). However, the potential effect on asset quality, particularly for leasing companies, could be more pronounced in the medium term as economic confidence is impacted by the currency weakness and rising

The supply of used light trucks (SUVs/CUVs/Trucks) will continue to swell in 2018 and into 2019, placing downward pressure on residual values (RV) in auto lease asset backed securities (ABS). Auto lease ABS pools have high exposure to these segments, particularly 2016-2018 vintages, given the vehicles' high popularity and strong sales patterns. 

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As the credit cycle enters its late stage, key metrics are stronger than before the start of prior recessions, pointing towards a lower expected default rate in the near term.

"We're seeing better trends when compared to the 2001-2002 and 2008-2009 recessions," said Eric Rosenthal, Senior Director of Leveraged Finance. "The high yield default rate

Australia's 30+ day mortgage arrears increased by 12bp to 1.13% in 1Q18 from the previous quarter, which is consistent with the seasonal increase in spending during the end-of-year holiday period, says Fitch Ratings in a new report. 

Despite the rise, 30+ days arrears remained 9bp lower than in 1Q17, reflecting Australia's improved economic