Issuers of utility recovery bonds want the SEC to treat the asset as corporate bonds. They raised concerns about a recent flip by the SEC to treat URBs as ABS, though the SEC notes that it has considered some URBs to be ABS for years.
The sentiment among investors at the ABS East conference this week was overwhelmingly positive. Attendance at the event hit a record, and investor demand for MBS and ABS is expected to remain strong into 2026, buoyed by anticipated interest rate cuts by the Fed.