Attending the ABS East Conference in Miami was a wonderful experience. I learned much and made many new contacts.
Everyone was amazed by how far the markets had recovered in the past six months and seemed to agree that the worst was over - yet there was still plenty of concern about the shocks to come as banks may eventually have to write down loan reserves as loan losses.
Valuation and pricing seemed to be on everyone's mind and was the focus of more than several sessions and vendors. There were lively discussions about mark-to-market pricing versus modeling and analytics - and a consensus that the best practice is to use multiple valuation methods while providing transparency concerning methodology, data and assumptions.
Highlights of my visit included spending time on John Devaney's yacht, a wonderful dinner at the Fontainebleau's Scarpetta restaurant hosted by The Seaport Group (while Pres. Obama was dining in the hotel at a fund-raiser) and occasional glimpses of beautiful Miami bay and beach.
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