Author: Michael Peterson
Take a look at the volume of asset-backed bonds issued recently and you could be forgiven for dismissing securitization as the runt of the international capital markets litter. According to Capital Data, some $27 billion-worth of European asset-backed bonds were issued in the First half of 2000, roughly a quarter of the volume of European corporate bonds issued in the same period. And unlike corporate bond issuance, asset-backed volumes have not grown since last year. But in securitization, volume Figures can be deceptive. Look instead at the frantic efforts of investment banks to build up a securitization capability and it is clear that something dramatic is happening in the world of asset-backed bonds.
The biggest move came in May, when Credit Suisse First Boston poached a highly regarded team of 15 bankers from BNP Paribas. The previous month Merrill Lynch had recruited seven securitization specialists from Deutsche Bank. Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, DLJ and ABN Amro are among the many Firms that are quietly staffing up.
Ready for take-off
These investment banks are convinced that securitization is reaching the point of take-off outside the US. Pressure on banks' funding costs and returns on equity are spurring ever more Financial institutions to use the tools of securitization to manage their balance sheets better.