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Securitization Group Puts Down Roots in D.C.

The ""American Securitization Forum"":http://www.americansecuritization.com (ASF) is opening a Washington, D.C. office. The organization is headquartered in New York but with all the new rules and regulatory changes coming down from Washington, ASF says a physical presence there will help further its advocacy efforts on behalf of the securitization markets.

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""The opening of the ASF's Washington office represents an important milestone for the ASF to give us a permanent staff presence in that critical city,"" said Ralph Daloisio, chairman of the ASF board and managing director of the New York based structured finance group of Natixis, a French banking organization headquartered in Paris.

In conjunction with the office opening, ASF has named Jim Johnson managing director of public policy. Johnson previously served as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate

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Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs for Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Alabama).

""I'm extremely pleased to have Jim join the ASF staff team,"" said Tom Deutsch, executive director of ASF. ""Jim has a significant understanding of the securitization markets, as well as a keen understanding of the workings of Congress and the regulatory rulemaking process. With Jim on board in our new Washington office, we will continue to extend our broad advocacy efforts on behalf of the securitization industry to help get credit flowing again to American consumers and businesses.""

As senior counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, Johnson advised lawmakers on a myriad of issues, including the supervision of bank and financial holding companies, asset securitization, insurance supervision, consumer protection, retail investor protection, derivatives, and payment and settlement systems.

He was also involved in the negotiations on the Dodd-Frank Act and housing finance reform legislation.

The American Securitization Forum is a professional forum through which participants in the U.S. securitization market advocate their common interests on legal, regulatory, and market practice issues.

ASF members include over 330 firms, including issuers, investors, servicers, financial intermediaries, rating agencies, financial guarantors, legal and accounting firms, and other professional organizations involved in securitization transactions.