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Going long:
While maintaining a top of the table market share, one bank was able to bring structural developments to the ABS programmes of core issuers that deepened their market access and satisfied investor demand for longer-dated paper. For these reasons, Citigroup is IFR’s North America ABS House of the Year.
Servpro was the strongest debut issuer in the growing whole business securitisation market in 2019, with strong investor demand helping lead bank Barclays push boundaries with the structure and pricing. The Blackstone-owned company was one of several debutantes, in what was a break out year for issuers away from restaurant franchises that have traditionally dominated the format. The franchise is the leading US brand in repairing residential and commercial properties that have been damaged by water, fire or mould, and was bought by Blackstone in...
Solid foundations
In the mortgage bond sector, one bank stood out for the combined strength of its offering across both residential and commercial mortgages. For demonstrating innovation as well as impressive volumes, Credit Suisse is IFR’s North America MBS House of the Year.
Family values Fannie Mae generated a stunning amount of investor interest for its debut multi-family risk transfer trade in October, Multifamily Connecticut Avenue Securities Trust 2019-01. Building on the success of the US$41bn of residential credit risk transfer – or CAS – bonds that Fannie Mae has sold, the agency took a similar structure and technology to transfer risk on a portfolio of multi-family loans for the first time and was rewarded with a huge order book. Fannie Mae’s aim with the debut deal was to build as broad and diverse an...
Stacking up
In a year when regulatory uncertainty and Brexit deadlines sometimes left EMEA securitisation in limbo, one bank refused to stand still. For all-round ability, for leading the full-stack charge and for deploying hefty balance sheet, BNP Paribas is IFR’s EMEA Structured Finance House of the Year.
A good name When analysts told Banco Sabadell at the beginning of the year that it had to improve its capital position, they said the bank had just two options: sell assets or raise equity. But with neither of those an attractive choice, Sabadell pursued a third avenue: hiring Deutsche Bank to arrange a €1bn consumer loans securitisation called Sabadell Consumo 1. The deal was geared towards helping Sabadell make good its commitment to end the year with a core equity Tier 1 ratio of 11.6% or higher. It was the first European consumer loan ABS...
Zip, zip hooray Australian financial technology company Zip broke new ground in 2019 with the world’s first master trust securitisation backed by buy-now, pay-later receivables. A multi-year effort by sole lead manager National Australia Bank culminated in August’s enlarged A$500m (US$340m) offering of asset-backed securities, Zip Master Trust Series 2019-1, which refinances the funding of existing receivables within Zip’s portfolio. "This transaction is another important milestone for Zip and fintech more broadly,” said Zip COO and...
Trade tensions between Beijing and Washington are threatening to spill over into capital markets, with some policymakers even calling for a ban on Chinese listings in the US. Just how far can it go?
As Japanese fund managers broaden their search for yield, international issuers are finding they no longer need to spend the time and money to prepare local language documentation. Old habits die hard, however, and lengthy marketing periods are still standard practice.
Primary bond markets have proved a testing ground for the transition from inter-bank offered rates to new alternative risk-free rates. But the abundance of issuance referenced to Sonia and SOFR should not obscure the unfortunate fact that most of the proceeds have immediately been swapped back to Libor by the borrowers.
Is the traditional green bond market threatened by the emergence of transition bonds, SDG bonds, general-purpose bonds with environmental targets and other debt classes intended to encompass wider environmental goals? Does it matter if new market segments are more effective at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases?
As another painful year for Europe’s banks draws to a close, the need for big bank consolidation has never been greater.
