Since 1970, April 22nd has been the annual day to appreciate our planet and recognize the importance of protecting it.  But more and more, we realize that everyday needs to be Earth Day, and that we need to take better care of the place that gives us life. It’s becoming harder and harder to doubt the legitimacy of climate change, and how we as humans contribute it.  At Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. (AD&Co) we recognize the dramatic nature of climate change and how it effects our neighbors around the world. As experts in the mortgage market, we’re looking at the ways extreme weather, such as hurricanes, floods, drought, and melting glaciers, affects people’s homes, their way of life—and the availability and price of housing.

In our December 2020 Pipeline article we anticipated an increasing expectation on the need to measure and disclose exposure to climate change, and laid out some of the analytic challenges. We have focused on studying the existing research, reaching out to climate risk research firms, and understanding the landscape of what is available and what needs to be developed. As we explore different product ideas, we expect to reach out to our existing clients to help us understand better the ways we can continue to deliver leading-edge analytics in this space.

For additional information, check out this panel featuring AD&Co’s Eknath Belbase. 

To seek "causes" of poverty in this way is to enter an intellectual dead end because poverty has no causes. Only prosperity has causes. – Jane Jacobs, Activist and Author

Here at Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. (AD&Co) we have been aware since our founding in 1992 that diversity of all kinds makes for a more interesting culture, a better exchange of ideas, and ultimately better products and services. However, for all of us, globally and in the U.S., there is still a long way to go. We are focused on increasing our sensitivity to diversity and unconscious bias and have made diversity outreach in recruiting, mentorship, vendors, charitable giving—indeed, in every aspect of our business a priority. We have been focused on the fact that every person deserves an equitable life. Our guiding principle is that we are all people and we all deserve to be treated equally. 

This is especially relevant to issues of housing as AD&Co’s Richard Cooperstein has addressed in the article he co-authored with Ken Fears from the National Association of Realtors (NARS) and Susan Wachter of the Wharton School for Business, University of Pennsylvania, Government-Sponsored Enterprises: Their Viability as Public Utilities published in the journal “Housing Policy Debate,” Volume 31, 2021 - Issue 1: The Mortgage Market in the Time of COVID / Smart Cities, Housing, and Community Development Policy.

CRTcast, a new podcast series under Freddie Mac’s Home Starts Here programming, focuses on credit risk transfer (CRT) and it’s three spokes: securities, (re)insurance and mortgage insurance. Freddie Mac leadership together with CRT industry experts cover current and relevant topics.

In the inaugural episode, Single-Family CRT Vice President Mike Reynolds sits down with Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc, (AD&Co) founder Andy Davidson to talk all things risk intelligence,  including planting the seeds of a GSE CRT market in 2010; and connecting with Freddie Mac to launch the first GSE CRT securities transaction in 2013. 

Click here to listen to the podcast. 

About Freddie Mac Single-Family Credit Risk Transfer

Freddie Mac’s Single-Family CRT programs transfer credit risk away from U.S. taxpayers to global private capital via securities and (re)insurance policies. The GSE Single-Family CRT market was founded when Freddie Mac issued the first STACR® (Structured Agency Credit Risk) notes in July 2013. In November 2013, ACIS® (Agency Credit Insurance Structure was introduced. Today, CRT serves as the primary source of private capital investment in residential mortgage credit. For specific STACR and ACIS transaction data, please visit Clarity, Freddie Mac’s CRT data intelligence portal.

We are proud to announce that Richard Cooperstein has accepted the position of co-chair of the Structured Finance Association’s (SFA) Regulatory Capital & Liquidity committee. 

“I am very pleased to be chosen to co-lead SFA’s Committee that is focused on rationalizing risk transfer for federally-connected institutions.  Aligning the regulation of risk transfer with the economics can improve capital efficiency, lower borrowing costs and reduce taxpayer risk.” - Richard Cooperstein

SFA plays an essential role in Structured Finance by bringing thought leaders together to collaborate on ways to respond to timely events affecting the industry, finance and our world.

Today we acknowledge the Year of the Ox. Happy Lunar New Year! We stand in solidarity with the Asian community against all violence and racism. Here’s to a year of peace, health and prosperity.