EUROPESERVICING 2008

DAY 1 | APRIL 28
FULL PROGRAMME AND FINAL PROGRAMME
[ DAY 2 PROGRAMME LINK ]

RECOMMENDED READING FOR THE EVENT

V.S. Naipaul. (1962). A House for Mr. Biswas. New York: Vintage Books
Lowenstein, Roger (2000). When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management. New York: Random House.
Soros, George (2008). The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis and What It Means. New York: PublicAffairs

Note: Please look at individual sessions for recommended reading materials relevant to particular topics. Please also note that EuroCatalyst offers these lists as a way of gaining better insight into the issues being discussed but does not back or support any particular viewpoint presented.

CLICK ON FILM TITLES TO READ DIRECTOR'S NOTE FOR EACH SESSION

08:30   REGISTRATION, COFFEE AND REFRESHMENTS

09:00
SESSION 1A   'VERTIGO'
SERVICING IN A WORLD OFF-BALANCE: An introduction to EuropeServicing 2008, a collaborative, pan-European industry-wide approach to addressing the global credit crisis from those on the front line of defence.

Servicing professionals rarely receive accolades from the industry and are constantly reviewed harshly by critics. Today both in-house and third-party servicing operations are being re-evaluated by clients, investors and shareholders due to their role on the front line in defending losses in an industry that has fallen from high and is currently in a severe state of vertigo and paranoia.

INTRO   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst BV

RECOMMENDED READING

Fitch | Rating Criteria for European Residential and Commercial Mortgage Loan Servicers (20 August 2007)

Barcap | RMBS servicing: view from the 'front line'
Lowell, Linda (9 April 2008). "Those Who Bury History Are Doomed to Repeat It". Housing Wire.

SESSION 1B   'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'
A conversation on the global economy and the current state of the markets

SPEAKER   CHARLES ROXBURGH, Director, McKinsey & Company

RECOMMENDED READING

Butler, Pat. (October 2007). "From the subprime to the ridiculous," opening keynote presentation at EuroCatalyst 2007: Burning Down the House, in Madrid.

Roubini, Nouriel. (April 2008) "The coming financial pandemic". Foreign Poliy Magazine.
Article available online at the Foreign Policy website (subscription) and at the National Post website (free)

Roach, Stephen (April 2008) "Why Greenspan is to blame". Foreign Policy Magazine.

SESSION 1C   'RUNNING WITH SCISSORS'
This panel discussion focuses on the current cycle of fear and repetitive disorder, the impact of mark-to-market accounting on mortgage and capital markets and the need to transition the focus of servicing from the originator's back office to the investor's front office.

RECOMMENDED READING

IMF | Global Financial Stability Report: Containing Systemic Risks and Restoring Financial Soundness (April 2008)
IMF | World Economic Outlook: Housing and the Business Cycle (April 2008)

OECD | The subprime crisis: Size, deleveraging and some policy options
Financial Stability Forum | Report of the Financial Stability Forum on Enhancing Market and Institutional Resilience (7 April 2008)

HOSTS   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
TIM SKEET, Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets and Head of Covered Bonds, Merrill Lynch International

PANEL   ALAIN CARON, Head of Securitisation, Credit Foncier
ACHIM DUEBEL, Financial Sector Economist, Finanpolconsult
PETER JEFFREY, Head of European Securitisation, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
CHARLES ROXBURGH, Director, McKinsey & Company
DOMINIC SWAN, Head of Structured Investment Vehicles, HSBC

11:00   REFRESHMENT BREAK

11:15
SESSION 2   'GOLDFINGER' AND THE CLIFFHANGER | The fate of the UK mortgage market and its capacity for master, primary and backup servicing

Not long ago, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling came up with a plan to resurrect the £100 billion market for secondary borrowing and wholesale funding by creating a "gold standard" to differentiate creditworthiness and quality among UK-originated mortgages. As it happens, the idea of a government-endorsed kite mark in a market that wants guarantees amounted to flying a kite. Now a working group has been created to tackle the overhang of too much paper in the hands of those who do not want to hold it, which, in turn, constrains the ability to lend and perpetuates market paralysis. Darling's "gold standard" idea inspired us to consider what an equivalent "Blue Chip" standard might look like for servicing. This session discusses current government and industry-wide initiatives to back the entire UK market gently away from the precipice. At the same time, as collateral performance worsens and banks begin to offset losses by selling portfolios, we will look closely at UK third-party servicing capacity and alternatives for master, primary and backup servicing.

RECOMMENDED READING

Bank of England | Special Liquidity Scheme news release (21 April 2008)
Fitch | Rating Criteria for European Mortgage Loan Servicers - UK Market Addendum (28 Jan 2008)

HOSTS   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
TIM SKEET, Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets and Head of Covered Bonds, Merrill Lynch International

PANEL   PAUL FENN, Development Director, HML (Homeloan Management Ltd)
DIPESH MEHTA, Manager, Securitisation Research, Barcap
EDDIE REGISTER, Senior Director, FitchRatings
ROB THOMAS, Senior Policy Advisor, Council of Mortgage Lenders
RICK WATSON, Managing Director, European Securitisation Forum
MATTHEW WYLES, Group Executive Director, Nationwide Building Society

12:15
SESSION 3   'WAG THE DOG' | Media coverage of housing markets, capital markets and the credit crisis: Transparency vs. headline risk

In an industry criticised for its lack of transparency, nothing (apart perhaps from undisclosed losses) has proven to be more controversial than media coverage of housing markets, mortgage products, and the global mortgage crisis. Housing finance, after all, affects the distribution of global wealth across all societies, governments, and capital markets. Industry participants, whether they are debating the definition of "sub-prime", the threat of recession or the demise of Northern Rock, are quick to use the media to their advantage to stimulate opportunity but even quicker to criticise coverage at the first signs of negativity. On the other hand, needlessly sensational headlines can cause irreparable damage to financial institutions not at fault. The result is a complete lockdown on participation in open discussions by important industry players who represent an industry that must collaborate to respond to the worsening crisis.

How much impact has the media had on escalating the sub-prime crisis?

How much culpability lies within the industry itself?

Which group is responsible for perpetuating the vicious cycle, the media or the industry and the timing of its disclosure?

How accurate has the reporting been on industry issues and are they too complex for mass consumption?

Is the media trading sensationalism for accuracy?

Is the industry using complexity to divert attention from undisclosed risk?

This session hopes to address these essential questions with key journalists from in conversation with their critics (and subjects) from within the industry. The goal is to build better communication between the industry and those responsible for its coverage.

HOSTS   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
SHIRLEY JACKSON, director, EuroCatalyst

PANEL   JULIAN BEDFORD, Duty Editor, BBC World Service Radio
ROB BIER, CEO and founder, SPARCK Hypotheken
JOHN DEACON, CEO, Giltspur Capital LLP
PAUL HANNON, Assistant Managing Editor, Dow Jones Newswires
TIM SKEET, Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets, Merrill Lynch
GILLIAN TETT, Columnist and Capital Markets Editor, Financial Times

13:30   LUNCH

14:15
SESSION 4   'THE SIXTH SENSE' | The Psychology and Mindset of Special Servicing and Loss Mitigation

Special servicing can best be described as the "triage" unit of a hospital emergency room, where injured people are sorted and prioritised into groups, based on their need or likely benefit from immediate medical treatment. In the same way, special servicers sort and prioritise "injured" loans to determine which treatment is best applied to handle collections and arrears, default, repossession/foreclosure in worst-case situations and how best to recover real estate value should the patient die on the operating table, so to speak. Like any good doctor, special servicers take all factors into consideration if they hope to effectively treat both the patient and their underlying injury. What makes a doctor exceptional is the same for any special servicer: the "sixth sense" to understand and apply the best resolution for all parties involved in and affected by the patient's "injury" as well as the circumstances which led to the injury. The most difficult challenge for all special servicers will always be how to scale that unique mindset into large teams across a corporate platform and strategy. This session will discuss best practices, tools, techniques and strategies to defend portfolios from further losses, mitigate ongoing losses and recover overall asset value, emphasising the skills that differentiate good special servicers from great ones.

RECOMMENDED READING

Fitch | Special Report: Making Dollars and Sense of Loan Modifications (3 April 2008)

HOST   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
MATT GILMOUR, Managing Director, Mars Capital

PANEL   INGRID BECKLES, VP of Servicing and Asset Management, Freddie Mac
JASON MILLER, Managing Director, Engage Special Servicing
RON ROARK, Chairman, Crown Westfalen Group
ROBBIE SARGENT, Director, FitchRatings
STEVE STAID, Managing Director, Securitised Products, Lehman Brothers

15:15
SESSION 5   'GET SMART' | Stress-testing portfolios for adverse market conditions; loss mitigation through loan modification, loan workouts, repossession and asset disposition

SESSION DESCRIPTION COMING SOON (to a theatre near you)

RECOMMENDED READING
Fitch | Special Report: Ratings Stress Test: Impact of UK Housing Market Downturn Scenarios on UK Non-Conforming RMBS Ratings (17 March 2008)

HOSTS   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
MATT GILMOUR, Managing Director, Mars Capital

PANEL   INGRID BECKLES, VP of Servicing and Asset Management, Freddie Mac
GREGG KOHANSKY, Senior Director, European Structured Finance, FitchRatings
PHILIPPE LÉGAT, Executive Director, Servicing, Stater Belgium
ADRIAN MITRI, Executive Director, Servicing, Lehman Brothers
JAMES SHACKELFORD, Executive Vice President, Butler & Hosch LLP

16:15   REFRESHMENT BREAK

16:30
SESSION 6   'HORTON HEARS A WHO' | Social banking platforms, peer-to-peer servicing and product development/scenario planning in virtual communities

This session moves beyond the impersonal chaos of the credit crisis into the world of social banking platforms and virtual communities. Representing a profoundly important development in the evolution of banking, peer-to-peer lending redistributes power and wealth across the most granular playing field using the most viral form of connectivity. These platforms are so granular that you could call them micro lenders. And they are also so viral that private individuals are not only able to borrow money, they can lend it, too. Where traditional banks intermediate between private customers and capital markets, peer-to-peer platforms enable private customers to engage with each other and facilitate their transactions. The key to their success is their ability to operationalise the process of peer-to-peer servicing.

As banks continue to hoard cash and impose restrictions during the escalating crisis, social banking platforms provide an additional source of funds for individuals who need credit by individuals with extra cash to lend. The crisis presents a unique opportunity for social banking platforms to make their move; however, their advance is dependent on their message being heard beyond beyond internet-savvy individuals.

Now imagine the ability to create a second identity in the virtual world where you can choose, look, behave, buy, sell and virtually become anyone you want. Second Life is an internet-based virtual world with more than 13 million residents who interact with each other in an unlimited variety of activities. Conducting business transactions in Linden dollars (which are exchangeable for real world currencies), residents can buy and build houses and own land. Notably, Second Life has also seen downward house-price movements consistent with what's happening in the real world. The possibilities in Second Life are unlimited, which is why so many banks and corporations are creating their own identity to test products and prototypes in the virtual world. There is no better time to reinvent the future of the industry, and no better place to do it, than in the virtual world - lest we continue to make a mess of things in real life.

HOSTS   TONI MOSS, CEO, EuroCatalyst
FRANK ROESSIG, CEO, GMAC-RFC Securities Europe

PANEL   ASHEESH ADVANI, CEO, Virgin Money US
JULIE MEYER, CEO, Ariadne Capital

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