CUTTING EDGE IS A PHRASE not often applied to development banks. But the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s strategy in helping to develop securitization structures for financial institutions in central and eastern Europe fits the bill. Asset-backed securities are rare in the region, but the multilateral is at the forefront of the product’s development and expects to participate in a handful of deals over the forthcoming months.
In December, the EBRD’s shareholders approved the first securitization that the bank will be involved in: a transaction from Russian Standard Bank (Bank Russky Standart) backed by consumer loans that could amount to as much as €70 million.
The EBRD is involved in two ways. First, the multilateral will invest in subordinated bonds denominated in euros and securitized by a portfolio of consumer loans originated by Russian Standard Bank. Specifically, the...
