NEW YORK, Tuesday, September 30, 2008 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced the launch of the 2008 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CDS Protocol.

The purpose of the Protocol is to offer market participants an efficient way to settle credit derivative transactions referencing Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the two US government sponsored entities (GSEs) that were placed in conservatorship on Sunday, September 7.

“ISDA’s protocol mechanism is playing an important role in ensuring stability in the credit derivatives industry by helping to provide participants with an efficient and reliable settlement process in the event of a reference entity default,” said Robert Pickel, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, ISDA. “The success of these efforts reflects the industry’s ability and determination to continue to strengthen the infrastructure for privately ...   more »

New York, September 30, 2008: Julius Finance, the research leader in CDO valuation technology, has called for the use of standardized house price appreciation scenarios in the valuation of complex financial products such as mortgage backed CDOs.

Julius Finance provides standardized scenarios for corporate defaults using breakthrough model fusion technology. Julius' corporate backed CDO valuations are the first internally consistent methodology to be deployed in this space.

"The old saying about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts does not apply to CDOs", says CEO Dr. Peter Cotton. "For years, banks have been able to tranche up CDOs and sell the slices for more than the cost of the pie - with inconsistent valuation and ratings models not exactly standing in the way. Now, there is the possibility of the entire financial community playing that game ...   more »