TIAA-CREF issued the following statement in support of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Best Practices for current and prospective participants in the U.S. covered bond market:
"Treasury's best practices for covered bonds will serve as an important step in the expansion of the covered bond market in the United States," said Sanjeev Handa, Head of Global Public Markets, TIAA-CREF. "By providing guidelines for residential covered bonds that advocate for the strong credit quality of the underlying collateral while maintaining the flexibility to include high quality loans outside of the guidelines for Government-Sponsored Enterprises, these Best Practices can help create transparency for investors while helping bolster liquidity in underserved areas of the housing market."Handa continued, "With clear guidelines from the U.S. Treasury and FDIC, covered bonds, long utilized as a mortgage finance vehicle in Europe, could serve as one way of strengthening the U.S. housing market by creating additional liquidity for mortgage lenders and, in turn, home buyers."
TIAA-CREF is also supportive of FDIC's recently issued guidance1 and efforts to clarify its treatment of covered bonds in the event of bank insolvency.
TIAA-CREF helps meet the financial needs of 3.4 million individuals and more than 15,000 institutions in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. Through TIAA-CREF Asset Management, a division of Teachers Advisors, Inc., TIAA-CREF provides institutional investors and intermediaries with access to the TIAA-CREF organization's 90 years of investing experience.
About TIAA-CREF Asset Management
TIAA-CREF Asset Management®, a division of Teachers Advisors, Inc., provides institutional investors and other intermediaries with access to the TIAA-CREF® organization's sophisticated investment management, research and analytical capabilities. Investment strategies cover a wide spectrum of asset classes, from traditional equity and fixed income to real estate and other alternatives.
With $420 billion in combined assets under management as of June 30, 2008, TIAA-CREF is best known as the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields and one of the largest institutional real estate investors in the U.S. with more than $69 billion invested in real estate assets (3/31/08)
Teachers Advisors, Inc. is a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA). TIAA, TIAA-CREF, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, TIAA-CREF Asset Management and FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR THE GREATER GOOD are registered trademarks of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.
© 2009 and prior years, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY 10017
