Our team attended the SFVegas 2024 Conference, where we helped lead discussions on several topics. Learn our top takeaways from the four days including expectations of blockchain, the overall sentiment around structured finance activities, and the sovereign nation principle trend.
We heard high enthusiasm across the board—among issuers, investors, and the many stakeholders supporting structured finance activities. The market may not be perfect, but many of our conversations with industry professionals touched on a few common themes: adaptation, resilience, and long-term market prospects.
The challenge multiplies when gathering and standardizing data across multiple servicers, remittance reports, and agent notices in areas from Mortgage-Backed Securities to Collateralized Loan Obligations. Tight operational demands, such as Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) submission deadlines and European Securities and Markets Authority reporting requirements, are also coming into play. Trustees, master servicers, servicers, and other parties are putting process simplification at the top of their agenda to align timelines and expectations.
Some U.S. Corporate Transparency Act provisions create additional costs and complexity for structured finance transactions. People typically agree that a fair balance must be struck between transparency and implementation costs, especially around due diligence and compliance processes like KYC.
The use of blockchain in structured finance is accelerating across regions and asset classes. Potential applications span origination through securitization. Much of the focus is around tokenization (i.e., digital representation) of assets on various blockchains. The goals are to improve data transparency, quality, accuracy, and predictability. However, there is still no killer app, and people are looking for regulatory clarity before truly embracing blockchain’s potential.
Online disinformation is prompting consumers to seek creative avenues for debt relief. One trend, the so-called sovereign nation principle, leads consumers to reach out directly to trustees, sometimes even making personal contact. They often send copious documentation and even attempt to pin people down in person. Trustees have had to adjust by creating policies and procedures for handling these inquiries. The trend goes beyond trustees and could create further challenges around collections and enforcement, too.
At the conference, Patrick Tadie moderated “Blockchain: Shaping the Future of Securitization,” Adam Scozzafava was a panelist on ”Market Beat: Inside View of Trust Administration,” and Pat Schulze led a fireside chat with Andy Barr (R-KY), Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy. We also enjoyed the chance to meet with colleagues and clients.
If we missed you during the conference, or you would like to continue our conversation around your structured finance opportunities, contact us today.
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This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the sale of any financial product or service or as a determination that any investment strategy is suitable for a specific investor. Investors should seek financial advice regarding the suitability of any investment strategy based on their objectives, financial situations, and particular needs. This article is not designed or intended to provide financial, tax, legal, accounting, or other professional advice since such advice always requires consideration of individual circumstances. If professional advice is needed, the services of a professional advisor should be sought.
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