Abstract:
The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for building securitization pools. Using the methods and apparatus herein, users can more easily create securitization pools. Users can set asset properties independent of the way the assets are stored. Additionally, users can create expression definitions that are specific to a given deal. Also, changes to the expressions can be saved for auditing and reporting purposes.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Securitization is a financial process in which interests in loans and other receivables, called assets, are packaged, underwritten, and offered as collateral in exchange for investment. By entering into the securitization transaction, the risk associated with holding a specific set of assets, called a pool, is transferred from the originator of the loans or issuer of the securities, which does not want the risk, to a group of investors, which is willing to take on that risk in exchange for the returns generated by the underlying assets in the pool. Such a transaction is called a deal. 
         [0002]    Typically, a securities issuer will select assets to offer investors based on the investors&#39; criteria. The issuer may have one or more Securitization transactions outstanding at a given time. Investors may then select the asset-backed securities that they wish to purchase from the securities issuer. 
         [0003]    Currently, securitization systems require an analyst to possess in-depth technical knowledge. Securities issuers maintain detailed information regarding a large number of assets. The asset properties are generally stored as database fields and more involved searches require an analyst to understand complex database structures. The complexity of the asset storage generally results in an analyst passing criteria to a technical specialist, wasting time and causing extra expenses. 
         [0004]    Additionally, regulatory statutes require certain information to be captured regarding asset securitization. Currently, some of the required information is captured manually adding to the time and expense of the securitization process and increasing the risk of error. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for building securitization pools. Using the methods and apparatus herein, users can more easily create securitization pools. Users can set asset properties independent of the way the assets are stored. Additionally, users can create expression definitions that are specific to a given deal. Also, changes to the expressions can be saved for auditing purposes. 
         [0006]    Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a high level block diagram of an example workflow debugging system. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a more detailed block diagram showing one example of a client device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a more detailed block diagram showing one example of a server. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a screenshot of an example securitization process. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a high level block diagram of an example securitization process. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a high level block diagram of an example securitization process with a plurality of deals. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    The present system is most readily realized in a network communications system. A high level block diagram of an exemplary network communications system  100  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The illustrated system  100  includes one or more analyst terminals  102 , one or more securitization servers  104 , and one or more asset databases  106 . Each of these devices may communicate with each other via a connection to one or more communications channels  108  such as the Internet or some other data network, including, but not limited to, any suitable wide area network or local area network. It will be appreciated that any of the devices described herein may be directly connected to each other instead of over a network. 
         [0014]    The securitization server  104  stores a plurality of files, programs, and/or web pages in one or more asset databases  106  for use by the analyst terminals  102 . The asset database  106  may be connected directly to the securitization server  104  or via one or more network connections. The asset database  106  preferably stores asset data. 
         [0015]    One securitization server  104  may interact with a large number of analyst terminals  102 . Accordingly, each securitization server  104  is typically a high end computer with a large storage capacity, one or more fast microprocessors, and one or more high speed network connections. Conversely, relative to a typical securitization server  104 , each analyst terminal  102  typically includes less storage capacity, a single microprocessor, and a single network connection. 
         [0016]    A more detailed block diagram of a analyst terminal  102  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The analyst terminal  102  may include a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a cellular telephone, or any other suitable communication device. The analyst terminal  102  preferably includes a main unit  202  which preferably includes one or more processors  204  electrically coupled by an address/data bus  206  to one or more memory devices  208 , other computer circuitry  210 , and one or more interface circuits  212 . The processor  204  may be any suitable processor, such as a microprocessor from the INTEL PENTIURM® family of microprocessors. The memory  208  preferably includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Preferably, the memory  208  stores a software program that interacts with one or more of the other devices in the system  100  as described below. This program may be executed by the processor  204  in any suitable manner. The memory  208  may also store digital data indicative of documents, files, programs, web pages, etc. retrieved from one or more of the other devices in the system  100  and/or loaded via an input device  214 . 
         [0017]    The interface circuit  212  may be implemented using any suitable interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface and/or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. One or more input devices  214  may be connected to the interface circuit  212  for entering data and commands into the main unit  202 . For example, the input device  214  may be a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, track pad, track ball, isopoint, and/or a voice recognition system. 
         [0018]    One or more displays, printers, speakers, and/or other output devices  216  may also be connected to the main unit  202  via the interface circuit  212 . The display  216  may be a cathode ray tube (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), or any other type of display. The display  216  generates visual displays of data generated during operation of the analyst terminal  102 . For example, the display  216  may be used to display web pages received from the securitization server  104 . The visual displays may include prompts for human input, run time statistics, calculated values, data, etc. 
         [0019]    One or more storage devices  218  may also be connected to the main unit  202  via the interface circuit  212 . For example, a hard drive, CD drive, DVD drive, and/or other storage devices may be connected to the main unit  202 . The storage devices  218  may store any type of data used by the analyst terminal  102 . 
         [0020]    The analyst terminal  102  may also exchange data with other network devices  220  via a connection to the network  108 . The network connection may be any type of network connection, such as an Ethernet connection, digital subscriber line (DSL), telephone line, coaxial cable, etc. Users of a analyst terminal  102  may be required to register with the securitization server  104 . In such an instance, each user of a analyst terminal  102 , may choose a user identifier (e.g., e-mail address) and a password which may be required for the activation of services. The user identifier and password may be passed across the network  108  using encryption built into the analyst terminal  102  browser. Alternatively, the user identifier and/or password may be assigned by the securitization server  104 . 
         [0021]    A more detailed block diagram of a securitization server  104  is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Like the analyst terminal  102 , the main unit  302  in the securitization server  104  preferably includes one or more processors  304  electrically coupled by an address/data bus  306  to a memory device  308  and a network interface circuit  310 . The network interface circuit  310  may be implemented using any suitable data transceiver, such as an Ethernet transceiver. The processor  304  may be any type of suitable processor, and the memory device  308  preferably includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Preferably, the memory device  308  stores a software program that implements all or part of the method described below. 
         [0022]    In particular, the memory  308  preferably stores an Expression Creation Module  312 , a Run-Time Expression Evaluation Module  314 , a Deal Specific Expression Module  316 , an Automatic Pool Creation Module  318 , an Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  and a Change Audit Trail Module  322 . 
         [0023]    The Expression Creation Module  312  may allow an Analyst at an Analyst Terminal  102  to create expressions for assets. The Analyst may create an expression that performs a calculation on pre-existing asset properties and the expression may create a new property for an asset. For example, the expression may take an asset&#39;s “Driver Credit Rating” and “Balance” and create a new property “Risk-Adjusted Balance” equal to the “Driver Credit Rating” divided by a value such as 800 and multiplied by the “Balance.” The expression may be stored in the Asset Database  106 , or another suitable storage device, associated with a corresponding asset. 
         [0024]    The Run-Time Expression Evaluation Module  314  may evaluate the expressions at run-time. For example, at run-time the expression may call for retrieving external data such as an interest rate, the module  314  may cause the securitization server  104  to retrieve the information from a connected server, through the internet or other network  108 , etc. This allows for expressions that include external and up-to-date information. 
         [0025]    The Deal Specific Expression Module  316  may store the expressions for assets based on deals. An Analyst may wish to use different data sources for expressions based on what a deal requires, and therefore the deal specific expression module  316  may store in the Asset Database  106 , or another suitable storage device, data associating deals with expression definitions. For example, the “securitized value” of an asset may be defined as the “Balance” of an asset for Deal 1 and defined as “Risk Adjusted Balance” for Deal 2. 
         [0026]    The Automatic Pool Creation Module  318  may automatically create pools of assets based on criteria defined by the Analyst at run-time. The Automatic Pool Creation Module  318  may use artificial intelligence to determine which assets to include in a pool. The system may create a large number of pools based on a great number of criteria. The Automatic Pool Creation Module  318  may use the expressions stored in the Asset Database  106 , or another suitable storage device, when creating the pools. 
         [0027]    The Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  may ensure that multiple deals run simultaneously will be treated fairly. For example, when multiple deals are run there is a risk that certain deals will be fulfilled before others. The Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  may ensure that one deal is not favored over others and that each deal is treated fairly. For example, the Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  may make multiple passes over the deals to ensure fairness and to maximize the value of assets that are included across all deals. 
         [0028]    The Change Audit Trail Module  322  may store a history of changes made to expressions for auditing purposes. For example, when an Analyst creates or changes an existing expression, the Change Audit Trail Module  322  may store the changes to the expressions in the Asset Database  106  or another suitable storage device. The Change Audit Trail Module  322  may also store the changes in the actual values of the evaluated expressions for auditing purposes in the Asset Database  106  or another suitable storage device. 
         [0029]    A flowchart of an example process  400  for building securitization pools is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Although the process  400  is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 4 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with process  400  may be used. For example, the order of many of the acts may be changed, and some of the acts described may be optional. In addition, it will be appreciated that this entire process may be repeated on a frequent-and-recurring basis, typically daily, weekly or monthly. For instance, the analyst may create a new pool of assets each month, such that all assets in a deal will be represented by a number of pools. This recurring process ensures that the issuer maximizes its investment in the securitization deal and helps ensure ongoing compliance with the terms, conditions and stipulations of the deal. 
         [0030]    In this example, the Analyst retrieves information from the Asset Database  106  in block  402 . For example, an Analyst may select a set of assets that he wishes to create a securitization pool from and the Asset Database  106  may transmit the information to the Analyst Terminal  102 . 
         [0031]    In block  404 , the Analyst creates expressions. For example, the Analyst may use an expression editor program to create or update a library of expressions which define new properties of the assets. The expressions may be based on existing properties, outside data or a combination of both. For example, the expressions may take an asset&#39;s “Driver Credit Rating” and “Balance” and create a new property “Risk-Adjusted Balance” equal to the “Driver Credit Rating” divided by a value such as 800 and multiplied by the “Balance.” In another example, the expression may use an outside data source such as an interest rate. 
         [0032]    In block  406 , the expressions are stored. For example, the Deal Specific Expression Module  316  stores the deal-specific expressions in the Asset Database  106 . The Change Audit Trail Module  322  may store all changes and additions of expressions. For example, the Change Audit Trail Module  322  may store a change history in the Asset Database  106 . Additionally, changed property values may also be stored in the Asset Database  106 . 
         [0033]    In block  408 , the expressions are evaluated at run-time. For example, expressions may be run against asset objects and the values of the new properties may be injected into the objects as newly defined properties. 
         [0034]    In block  410  pools consisting of a subset of the assets retrieved from the database in block  402  may be automatically created. For example, the Automatic Pool Creation Module  318  may create pools of assets in real-time, using the values of the expressions evaluated in block  408 , such that the deal&#39;s criteria as entered by the Analyst are met. If multiple deals are being evaluated, the Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  may ensure that the deals are being treated fairly. For example, the Equitable Deal Treatment module  320  may run multiple passes over the deals to ensure that one deal&#39;s criteria are not met before other deals. 
         [0035]    A high level block diagram of an example securitization process is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The process may have an asset database  106  and an analyst terminal  102 . The analyst may create expressions  508  and use the expressions as criteria in creating the initial pool of assets  506  from which to select in the securitization process  514 . For example, based on certain properties the analyst at the analyst terminal  102  may select an initial pool of assets. 
         [0036]    The analyst at the analyst terminal  102  may create expressions  508  and use the expressions to inject new properties into the assets  506 . For example, the analyst may use an expression editor to create expressions based on an asset&#39;s existing properties or external information  510  as is described in relation to block  404 . The external information  510  may be incorporated at run time to obtain values for the expressions. The assets with the updated expressions  512  may then be utilized in the securitization process  514 . 
         [0037]    A high level block diagram of an example securitization process with a plurality of deals is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The process may have an asset database  106 , an analyst terminal  102 , expressions  508  and an asset pool  506 . 
         [0038]    An analyst at an analyst terminal  102  may specify details for a number of deals to create a plurality of deals  602 . For example, an expression may be deal specific or may apply to all deals. A criterion may also be deal specific or apply to all deals. Criteria may be based on the properties and expressions of an asset. For example, a criterion may return all assets where the driver&#39;s credit rating is above 700. A deal may include a plurality of criteria. 
         [0039]    The plurality of deals  602  may then be sent to the securitization process  514  to create deal specific pools  606 . For example, the process may perform multiple passes  604  over the plurality of deals  602 , distributing the available assets among the deals so as to maximize the value of the assets assigned to each deal, and employing the Equitable Deal Treatment Module  320  to ensure that each deal is treated equitably. Further, this process may be repeated on a periodic basis over time, such that the process of selecting assets for a pool will be repeated daily, weekly or monthly. 
         [0040]    It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.