Markit Launches Synthetic CMBS Index with CDS IndexCo

CDS IndexCo consortium and Markit Group have launched CMBX, a synthetic index of U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) with an initial group of 14 market-making banks. Markit will serve as the central source of information about CMBX, and will utilize cashflows from Trepp. As with ABX, a home equity loan-linked index based on various asset-backed securities (ABS) launched in January as part of the same partnership, a new series of CMBX indices will be issued every six months.