Non-conforming lenders fuel mortgage growth
AS NEXT BIG things go, first-loss sales of ABS transactions have been some time coming. Although changes to regulatory and accounting rules in Europe have long been a driver for banks to sell equity exposure, the market has only really picked up steam in the past year. One of the problems is supply – many banks have been far slower to come to the table than the specialist investors now piling into the sector would like (see Funds list to ease first-loss sales, Euromoney May 2006). UK non-conforming, German, Dutch and Portuguese lenders were first off the blocks, and the market’s sights are now firmly on the rest of Europe as a potential source of business.
In securitization terms, continental Europe is dominated by Spain, where issuance of secured bonds has skyrocketed in recent years. It is therefore no surprise that...
