Wachovia Securities recently released its collateralized debt obligation deals on Intex Solutions, making it the fourth CDO underwriter to do so. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Salomon Smith Barney also distribute deals on Intex (BW, 9/9). CDO market analysts agree that a greater number of firms using the same CDO analytical software means more transparency for the CDO secondary market.
Jim Wilner, a v.p. at Boston-based Intex, says Wachovia released 30 deals. He says that when a dealer releases deals it underwrote on Intex, it allows investors and competitor dealers, which subscribe to Intex, to obtain information on those deals without having to request permission from the underwriting firm. He says 500 CDO deals are currently available on Intex. Out of those 500 transactions, the four firms that have made their information available to others represent 150 deals, or 30% of the total.
Nichol Bakalar, director of CDO research at the Charlotte, N.C.-based firm, says "We are doing this to support the growing trend of increased transparency in the CDO secondary market. We hope that other firms will follow suit." Wachovia will release all of the CDO deals it has underwritten, which includes commercial mortgage-backed securities or asset-backed securities repackaging, as well as loan deals.