Briefs: Microfinance Budget boost, Firstmac launches RMBS, East & Partners' European venture, car lo 14 May 2015 3:51PM Banking Day staff Briefs, Good Shepherd Microfinance has welcomed the Australian Government's $33.3 million investment in safe and affordable financial services. Provided over five years, the funding will allow Good Shepherd Microfinance to extend its range of people-centred, affordable financial programs for people on low incomes, including its No Interest Loans Scheme. NAB also funds the NILS scheme. As we foreshadowed last week, non-bank home loan provider Firstmac has launched a new series of residential mortgage-backed securities. This time Firstmac, with ANZ, NAB and Westpac as joint lead managers, is seeking to sell almost A$500 million in floating-rate notes. S&P and Fitch have both given their highest preliminary ratings to the top three classes of notes, with S&P assigning preliminary ratings to seven of the eight classes. The transaction is structured so that the top three AAA-rated tranches ($300 million, $125 million and $25 million, respectively), are independent of LMI support. Specialist banking sector market research firm East & Partners is expanding its European operations with co-founder and principal analyst Paul Dowling relocating to London to lead operations. Brett Williamson has been appointed as chief executive officer, Australia. Williamson has been with the company for over 20 years, and has been chief operating officer for the last 15 years. Australia's prime auto asset backed securitisation losses and delinquencies rose during the first quarter of 2015, according to Fitch's latest Dinkum ABS Index. Losses have continued to remain below the ratings agency's expectations, despite the annualised net loss rate increasing by 15 basis points year-on-year to 0.62 per cent and 30-plus days' delinquencies increasing by 19 bps to 1.25 per cent at the end of March 2015, as "holiday spending pressures" that were building at the end of 2014 came to the fore. Australia's prime auto ABS issuance of $6.0 billion 2014 has continued into 2015, with a record $2.05 billion in 1Q15.