Attention Web designers and data analysts: Reg AB sounds like a full employment act for you all!

There's a great saying among us consultants (one that we never use with clients, of course!), courtesy of Despair.com, that great spoof of the Successories product line:

"If you're not part of the solution, there's a great deal of money to be made in prolonging the problem."

The Financial Times reports today ("Rigorous Standards Loom,") that the newly introduced Reg AB, requiring disclosure of detailed information on the performance of underlying collateral in asset-backed securities, specifically permits/expects the disclosure to be web-based.

Key Links:

• JPMorgan Chase took a look at Reg AB recently.


• The American Securitization Forum, part of the Bond Market Association, has resources, too.


• ISG Novasoft offers a "Risk Management Compass" software package to ensure compliance.

In general, it sounds like there will be a lot of work for data analysts designing and updating websites for the big rating agencies, and opportunities for lots of consultants to "help" issuers with their compliance challenges.

Be prepared for delays, though. Securitization.net is reporting (a story from Asset Backed Alert) that the SEC has fewer than 16 analysts assigned to Reg AB.

Anyone out there who's working on Reg AB issues, we'd love to hear from you!