| Peter Anderson | ||||||
"Long-term growth in the asset-backed market will come not from banks but from corporates." So reckons Maarten Stegwee, head of European asset finance at Credit Suisse First Boston. Speaking at Euromoney's global borrowers' and investors' forum in London last month, Stegwee explained why so many observers expect explosive growth in corporate asset-backed issuance. "If we had the luxury of redesigning the corporate balance sheet from scratch to create the best possible long-term capital structure, securitization would have a big role," he said.
Right on cue, one of the most eagerly awaited securitization deals of the year was priced in the last week of June. Through a special vehicle, TI Securitization, Telecom Italia raised e700 million of debt secured by telephone bill receivables. The deal, arranged by WestLB, BNP Paribas and Finanziaria Internazionale, marks the first time receivables of this sort have been securitized.