On June 25, 2010, the joint House of Representatives-Senate Conference Committee finalized the securitization provisions of the federal financial reform bill (the “Conference Bill”). The Conference Bill will now be presented to the House of Representatives and the Senate and is expected to be approved quickly.

The Conference Bill is similar to the Senate’s proposed “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” (the “Senate Bill”) with some modifications. The securitization provisions of the Conference Bill, like predecessor bills, focuses on “credit risk retention” that would require originators and securitizers of financial assets to retain a portion of the credit risk of securitized financial assets or, in more popular terms, to have “skin in the game.” In addition, securitization provisions in the Conference Bill set forth disclosure requirements for the issuer and credit rating agencies who rate the issuer’s securities.