top of page

Asset Servicing & Structured Finance

Home >

 Practices > 

SEDA Experts

Asset Servicing &

Structured Finance.

Authoritative guidance and testimony across trustee and indenture trustee roles, custodian duties, collateral and fund administration, calculation agent services, and master and special servicer responsibilities.

PRACTICE AREA  · EXPERT WITNESS & CONSULTING

Related Experts

About this practice

PRACTICE OVERVIEW

Our team of experts offers authoritative guidance and testimony across a wide range of functions, including trustee and indenture trustee roles, custodian and sub-custodian duties, collateral and fund administration, calculation agent services, and both master and special servicer responsibilities.

Backed by extensive industry experience, SEDA Experts is committed to delivering precise, informed assessments tailored to meet the rigorous demands of litigation and dispute resolution in structured finance matters.

Our practitioners have direct experience across the full lifecycle of structured finance transactions — from SPV incorporation and warehouse structuring through issuance, ongoing administration, and resolution of events of default, liquidation, and redemption processes.

SEDA provides expert witness testimony and consulting services across the full range of asset servicing and structured finance matters. As expert witnesses, our practitioners address the duties and liabilities of trustees, custodians, servicers, and calculation agents in connection with CDOs, CLOs, RMBS, and CMBS disputes. As consultants, we advise financial institutions on operational controls, custody best practices, and the design of structured finance governance frameworks — bringing direct institutional experience that ensures our analysis meets the standard required in both courtrooms and boardrooms.

WHY SEDA

Former trustees, custodians, calculation agents, and servicers from leading financial institutions — with direct operational experience across structured finance transactions.

Deep expertise in the full lifecycle of ABS, CLO, CDO, and CMBS transactions — from warehouse structuring and issuance through events of default and liquidation.

Extensive experience in SPV administration, indenture trustee duties, and compliance with transaction documents in complex securitization structures.

SUB-PRACTICE  AREAS

Areas of expertise

01

Trustee & Indenture Trustee

Related: Alternative Asset Classes · Securities

02

Custodian & Sub-Custodian Duties

Related: Risk Management · Investigation & Regulatory

Trustee and indenture trustee duties, obligations under trust indentures, and compliance with transaction documents in ABS, CLO, CDO, and CMBS structures.

Collateral management, portfolio administration, eligibility criteria compliance, coverage tests, and overcollateralization in structured credit transactions.

03

Collateral & Fund Administration

Related: Alternative Asset Classes · Financing

Analysis of custodian and sub-custodian obligations, safekeeping of assets, reconciliation duties, and liability for operational failures in securities custody arrangements.

04

Servicer Responsibilities

Related: Real Estate · Regulatory & Compliance

Analysis of master servicer and special servicer duties — including servicing standards, modification decisions, foreclosure procedures, and servicer advances in CMBS and RMBS transactions.

Related Experts
Peter U. Vinella, Ph.D.

Peter U. Vinella, Ph.D.

Bio

Managing Director, Advisor to the Board

Peter U. Vinella has more than 35 years of experience in the financial industry as a consultant and as an executive with leading financial institutions and government agencies. Mr. Vinella has extensive testifying experience acting as an expert for both plaintiff and defendant over more than 40 engagements.

Former 

Berkeley Research Group - Managing director

Wilmington Trust Conduit Services, LLC - President and CEO

Mark J. Buono

Mark J. Buono

Bio

Managing Director

Mark Buono is a CMBS and CRE industry pioneer and former Goldman Sachs Managing Director with 20 years in commercial real estate. He also served as Managing Director and CRE Portfolio Manager at Global Atlantic Financial Group and specializes in CMBS, CRE CDOs, REITs, portfolio, and risk management.

Former 

Goldman Sachs  - Managing Director, Special Asset Group

Freddie Mac - Vice President, Mortgage Trading

Howard Yaruss

Howard Yaruss

Bio

Managing Director

Howard Yaruss is an accomplished real estate expert, serving as an Adjunct Professor at New York University and as an expert witness in mortgage, financial guaranty, and title insurance matters. He previously held senior leadership roles at Radian Group Inc., including Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Responsibility Officer.

Former

Radian Group Inc. - Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Responsibility Officer

Assured Guaranty, Ltd. - Vice President, Assistant General Counsel

Jonathan (“Jon”) Norton

Jonathan (“Jon”) Norton

Bio

Managing Director

Jonathan (“Jon”) Norton is an experienced banker and investor with over four decades of international financial services expertise spanning corporate banking, structured finance, asset-based lending, project finance, export finance, and alternative investments.

Former

Wells Fargo Capital Finance (UK) Ltd - Director, Structured Finance

Commerzbank AG London Branch - Head of Corporates




John Hardt

John Hardt

Bio

Managing Director

John has 40+ years of experience in global financial markets, with senior leadership roles in treasury, risk, and capital markets. Based in New York and London, he has worked across retail, wholesale, and investment banking, including as Group Corporate Treasurer of Lloyds TSB Group and in senior roles at UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup.

Former

Citigroup - Risk Identification Lead, Enterprise Risk Management

Goldman Sachs - Managing Director

UBS - Managing Director and Head of Capital Optimization



Robert Almanas

Robert Almanas

Bio

Managing Director

Robert Almanas has 35 years of experience in financial services, holding management roles across transaction banking and post-trade functions, including global custody, correspondent banking, asset servicing, and market infrastructure.

Former 

State Street - Senior Vice President Global Operations

Harvard Management Company - Managing Director

Randy O’Connor

Randy O’Connor

Bio

Managing Director

Randy O’Connor is an accomplished energy expert with over 20 years of experience originating, structuring, and executing complex commodities transactions across the global oil and gas sector, combining structured finance expertise with deep knowledge of physical oil trading.

Former

Citigroup - Managing Director, Head of Structured Transactions in Oil and E&P

Morgan Stanley - Managing Director, Head of Strategic Transactions Group


Phillip Millman

Phillip Millman

Bio

Managing Director

Phillip Millman is an expert in mortgage finance, structured product, capital markets, financial regulation, and risk management. He held senior positions at FHFA for more than two decades.

Former

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) - Detail to House of Representatives Financial Services Committee (HFSC), 

Principal Congressional Affairs Specialist

E*TRADE Financial - Senior Manager / ABS Credit


Cameron Perrett

Cameron Perrett

Bio

Managing Director

Cameron Perrett is a corporate finance, private credit, and capital markets expert with more than 25 years of experience across banking, advisory, and institutional finance in Australia, Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Former

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) - Head of Financial Institutions Coverage for Global Insurers, Pension Funds and Asset Managers / Head of FI Advisory

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) - Head of FI Deal Advisory Asia



Debbie Bigman, CPA

Debbie Bigman, CPA

Bio

Managing Director

Debbie Bigman has 36+ years of experience in financial product valuation, enterprise risk management, and financial reporting. She brings deep expertise in credit, pricing, and transaction analysis, helping banks, lenders, insurers, and funds navigate complex market and regulatory challenges.

Former

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP - Partner, Financial Markets Co-Founder

Jean-Michel Karagah

Jean-Michel Karagah

Bio

Senior Advisor

Jean-Michel Karagah is a senior commodity trade and structured finance executive with over 30 years of international banking and corporate experience across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Former

BB ENERGY GROUP - Global Head of Trade Finance

BNP PARIBAS SA / BNP PARIBAS (SUISSE) SA, Geneva, Switzerland - Team Head - Commodity Trade Finance

Steve Masterson

Steve Masterson

Bio

Managing Director

Steve Masterson is an expert witness in trust and fiduciary litigation. He has served in court-appointed fiduciary roles, including Trustee and Personal Representative. His experience includes trust administration, trust accounting, and fiduciary duty issues in probate and trust disputes.

Former

Wells Fargo Bank - Vice President, Trust & Financial Advisor, Relationship Manager

Bradford Trust Company (sub of PaineWebber) - Trust Admin Group A Leader


Fred Brettschneider

Fred Brettschneider

Bio

Senior Advisor

Fred Brettschneider is a securitized products and asset-backed finance executive with 30+ years of experience at leading banks and asset managers. He specializes in ABS and securitized products, with broad expertise across fixed income, equities, investments, risk management, valuations, and compliance.

Former

LibreMax Capital - President

Deutsche Bank - Head of Global Markets Americas

Head of Institutional Client Group Americas

Head of ABS Trading and Syndicate


Jeanette Jin, Ph.D.

Jeanette Jin, Ph.D.

Bio

Managing Director

Dr. Jin has nearly 30 years of experience in financial services as a senior executive. For the past 14 years, she has focused on litigation, providing expert testimony and advisory services. Her work covers complex areas including cryptocurrencies, MBS, derivatives, and risk management.

Former 

Berkeley Research Group - Managing Director

Wilmington Trust Conduit Services - Chief Operating Officer, SVP

Damiano Colnago

Damiano Colnago

Bio

Managing Partner

Damiano Colnago is the co-founder of SEDA Experts LLC. He specializes in custody and trustee services, and collateral administration. His expertise includes banking operation, collateralized debt obligations, fund of funds, derivatives , asset-backed securities (ABS), mortgage backed securities (MBS), syndicated loans, and cryptocurrencies.

Former 

Wilmington Trust Conduit Services, LLC. - Deputy Head of CDO Risk and Compliance

Sergio C. Godinho

Sergio C. Godinho

Bio

Managing Partner

Sergio Godinho is a senior professional with experience in financial services and in litigation and dispute advisory. He works on class actions, mediation, and business consulting matters, supporting analyses of causation, liability, and damages.

Former 

Wilmington Trust Conduit Services, LLC. - Head of CDO Risk and Compliance

bottom of page