* UnumProvident landed the first securitization of group long-term disability insurance. The $130 million Tailwind Holdings securitization was backed by the profit and release of capital from reinsurer Tailwind Re. [The company closed last week the first securitization of individual disability policies. (To see the story, click here.)]
* Europe's first commercial real estate collateralized debt obligation was being marketed. Morgan Stanley was arranging the E342 million (436.8 million) Anthracite Euro CRE CDO 2006-1 with BlackRock Management managing. The deal came after months of speculation as to who would crack the CRE CDO market in Europe. [Despite hopes the deal would open the gates to a flood of CRE CDOs, issuance to date has been paltry.]