With Certain U.S. MBS in Short Supply, Some Buy Abroad

With securitized private-label mortgage product in short supply in the United States, investors are showing an interest in international product, according to one speaker at the American Securitization Forum's annual meeting. Sixty percent of an international residential mortgage-backed securities deal done a month ago was sold to U.S. investors, said David Jacob, executive managing director at Standard & Poor's, speaking as part of a mid-year securitization market review panel. Bob Behal, vice president and co-head of asset- and mortgage-backed securities research at investor The Vanguard Group Inc., confirmed that investors have an appetite for product that has sent them on a search for it. "We're trying to find other sources of loans to...feed the machine," he said.