Barclays Capital wants to beef up its U.S.-based securitization research effort by adding a home equity analyst by the end of the first quarter, according to a firm insider. The analyst would report to London-based William Lloyd, head of securitization research. Lloyd declined to comment.
The position is a newly created one as there is no special research effort devoted to home equity, the largest and fastest growing asset-backed securities sector. Last year, new supply of home equity in the U.S. totaled $151 billion, or 41% of the $357 billion of U.S. private and public ABS supply, says Jeff Salmon, a New York-based ABS analyst who focuses on credit card, autos and consumer loans at Barclays. Salmon says he is not aware of the hiring plan. But, he believes the sector is poised for strong growth this year.