Allison Bisbey

Residents' low incomes usually disqualify them for standard student loan refinancings, but SoFi and other lenders describe these borrowers as strong credits with high earnings potential who could offset some of the risks lurking in student loan pools.

James Bennison, head of alternative capital markets at Arch Capital Group, says that a new insurance-linked security helps with regulatory capital requirements and provides information that can help the company to better manage risk.

The tighter spreads on the fintech student lender's latest securitization should help offset a rise in the underlying benchmark rates, keeping its funding costs low — and helping it compete more effectively.

While some tackle the problem by offering their own consolidation loans, Sallie Mae is developing products with extended terms that reduce borrowers' monthly payments in an effort to discourage borrowers from refinancing in the first place.

Navient has suspended stock buybacks to buy and expand a debt-refinancing firm that faces stiff competition from fintechs, and some shareholders aren’t happy.

It’s not clear whether syndicated credit agreements require 100% investor consent before adopting a new benchmark. The industry trade group suggests giving new loans the flexibility to change indexes without unanimous approval, but investor advocates are balking.

With fewer CMBS deals coming to market — partly as a result of risk-retention rules — an independent finance company like Ladder Capital can’t always wait to piggyback on Wall Street’s transactions.

So-called transitional lending has traditionally been kept on balance sheet; but it’s become attractive to bundle the loans for transactions called (take a deep breath) commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations. Can investors stomach the features these deals sported before the crisis?

Property Assessed Clean Energy loans can no longer be offered in unincorporated areas of Kern County, Calif. The controversial loans, meant to promote energy efficiency, began in California and are now offered in a number of states.

Chinese banks and insurance companies represent a new and potentially large source of capital that could crowd out U.S. banks as investors in collateralized loan obligations.