Liquid real estate Issue 05

Boost for Bahrain’s mortgage market


The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Real Estate Finance company (Reef) has secured $150 million in warehouse financing to bolster its local mortgage lending activities. The facility, provided by Calyon Crédit Agricole CIB, enables Reef to diversify its funding sources. Ultimately, the mortgage portfolio could be used to back a residential mortgage-backed securitization in either an Islamic or standard format.


To date, there have only been a handful of mortgage-backed transactions in the Gulf region. Reef’s potential deal would be a first in Bahrain. Last year, Dubai’s Tamweel completed a $250 million RMBS via Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered. That deal was backed by a portfolio of 1,000 mortgages. Other regional mortgage originators, such as Qatar Islamic Bank, are also looking at the securitization of their portfolios using...


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