S&P Releases SPIRE System for RMBS

Standard & Poor's has announced the commercial release of SPIRE, a proprietary cash flow modeling system for residential mortgage-backed securities.SPIRE (Standard & Poor's Interest Rate Evaluator) provides access to the same tools used by S&P analysts to obtain "rapid feedback" on possible RMBS securitization structures, S&P said. Used in conjunction with other S&P models, SPIRE analyzes the effect of variable interest rates on assets and liabilities associated with structuring RMBS. It incorporates S&P's collateral and cash flow modeling criteria for foreclosure frequency, loss severity, and loss coverage requirements, as well as vectors for voluntary prepayments and interest rate risk, the company said.