The market for asset-backed debt boomed in 1996. The volume of issuance in large asset classes increased but there was also growth in securitization of new asset classes, the number of issuers coming to market and geographical locations.
Citibank was at the forefront of all this, structuring and leading over $29 billion in over 200 transactions worldwide.
In multi-seller vehicles, where receivables are sold to special-purpose vehicles that fund themselves through issuance of commercial paper or MTNs, Citibank is issuing for over 150 clients. In private placements, Citibank did more deals than any other underwriter, while in public issuance it has continued to bring innovative new structures to the market, such as trust-liquidity certificates.
New deals were not confined to OECD countries - Citibank did more than $1 billion of its business in emerging markets, mostly concentrating on issuers that are trying to overcome the constraints of the sovereign credit rating. With securitization, a special-purpose vehicle can be established that nullifies that constraint. Citibank has brought several such transactions to market in the past year.
Top tier JP Morgan JP Morgan is a dominant force in asset-backed debt.