Aviva
Innovations in equity release MBS and tier 1 offerings have reaped rewards for the UK's largest insurer
| Aviva's e700m perpetual NC 2014 DCI tier 1 Demand by investor type |
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Aviva (and subsidiary Norwich Union) stands out in the insurance sector as the most innovative issuer active in public capital markets over the past 12 months. It has approached the capital markets in a strategic manner, for instance using structured finance not simply as a financing tool but also as a way to boost regulatory capital. Aviva has a high profile in its sector: it is the number one insurer in the UK, the fifth-largest insurer in the world and one of the leaders in Europe's life business. These circumstances have supported Aviva's status as one of the benchmark issuers of capital securities.
In July and September 2004, this borrower – via Norwich Union – printed two ground-breaking asset-backed securitizations that, in addition to a £1 billion equivalent classic tier 1 offering in Aviva's name, launched in November 2004, impressed the markets.
The first securitization was £418 million ($769 million) in size, and, being a mortgage-backed issue, might be considered uninteresting flow business.