Moody's Investors Service is gearing up to launch a new modeling system for collateralized debt obligations, which it believes will simplify the ratings process. "This will make the platform more user-friendly," said Yusuke Seki, v.p. and senior credit officer in the structured finance group in Tokyo. He said, "It will boost transparency and we think more people will use it to analyze CDO transactions." He continued the project has been in the works globally for the past six months and could be released in December. Seki added the revamped methodology will not affect outstanding CDO transactions, but declined to elaborate on specifics of the project.
Additionally, last week Moody's announced its Tokyo office rated a total of nine CDO transactions in the third quarter bringing the year-to-date total to 17. Moody's expects a total issuance of around 20 deals this year, down from 24 in the previous year. "In Japan credit spreads remain tight and investors are looking overseas," said Seki. He expects interest in overseas synthetic CDO portfolios to increase in the coming months, given the more attractive yields.
