Another Fine Mezz

George Smith is joined by US securitization editor Oliver West to discuss a rare reperforming RMBS from Balbec and the pick up in public markets activity this week

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss whether ABS and CLO issuers are managing to take advantage of period of calmer macro conditions and how to securitise sun light

ABS primary slows down, but George Smith and Tom Hall discuss one issuer bucking the trend and whether secondary selling has been orderly

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss whether the tariffs chaos will derail the European ABS market and how the ESA report left the CLO market scrambling

Senior securitization reporter George Smith and reporter Tom Hall focus on deal activity in the European ABS this week, with a short trip to the Middle East.

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss all the action in a European securitization primary market that is becoming a little more adventurous across all sectors.

Covered bond editor Frank Jackman joins George Smith to discuss Paragon’s innovative buy-to-let covered bond, before George and regular podcaster Tom Hall discuss the prospects for UK bridging RMBS, Italian ABS pricing and capital treatment of subscription lines

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss the recent run of ABS debuts, the ECB's plans to fast-track SRT approvals and bumper CLO fundraising

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss why ESMA’s consultation misses the mark, how another sponsors boosts CMBS, and whether euro CLO spreads are about to hit their floor

SFA CEO Michael Bright joins George Smith and Oliver West to preview SF Vegas

Mudasar Chaudhry, head of European structured finance research at Morningstar DBRS, discusses the market outlook with our reporters George Smith and Tom Hall.

George Smith is joined by Diana Bravo and Nick Conforti to discuss the state of data centre financing in the US, while Europe's securitization market keeps ticking over.

George Smith and Tom Hall discuss the return of the European CMBS market, how to boost SME financing and why banks are restricting SRT investors use of leverage.

George Smith and Oliver West discuss why asset managers snapped up Santander's Holmes, how Toyota and VW attracted big books despite differing disclosure on ESG.

First up our new hire, Tom Hall, gets into the weeds of what to expect in UK prime RMBS this year. Meanwhile, George Smith gets stuck into the surge of CLO ETFs in Europe and whether their impact will match up to how they have change the market in America. Tom is making his Another Fine Mezz debut this week, to cap a flying start to life at GlobalCapital. There’s lots more to come from both of Tom and George, so connect with Tom on LinkedIn or send him an email and get him to buy you a coffee.

European ABS reporter George Smith and freelance CLO reporter Victoria Thiele discuss whether 2025 can live up to a stellar 2024. Both discuss the features they wrote for GlobalCapital’s review of the year (ABS here and CLOs here). In CLOs, there might be a bit more of an ebb and flow to issuance next year, but expectations are for another strong year of supply, with a quick start in January. The European middle market CLO market could also take off, after Barings priced the first deal earlier this year. There is a similar optimism in ABS, with new issuers, new asset classes and heavy supply expected. Data centres are one standout area where growth is expected, while bank supply is also likely to continue to increase. Optimism abounds, but risks do remain particularly because of macro uncertainty. This is the final episode of Another Fine Mezz for the year, but the show will return to cover how 2025 unfolds with regular episodes in January.

For the final episode of the Another Fine Mezz SRT Series, former securitization editor Tom Lemmon was joined by Natascha Winberg, MUFG’s head of financial institutions for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They discuss what the next decade will look like for the SRT market, with regulators likely to push for more transparency. The investor base may also continue to grow, particularly as banks use more ESG assets to access impact funds. Natascha highlights the importance of third party arrangership for smaller issuers and debut issuers, or in deals with more unusual assets, like project finance, infrastructure, CRE or fund finance. In the second half of the show, they reflect on Natascha’s career so far and discuss how the perception of bankers has changed since the GFC and how to manage the challenges of being a working parent. Finally, for anyone just starting out in the market today, Natascha emphasises the importance of learning, being curious and asking questions.

In the latest installment of GlobalCapital's SRT podcast series, host George Smith was joined by Georgi Stoev and Thomas Lupbrand from the European Investment Fund. The guests explored the unique role of the EIF in the SRT market, as well as reflecting on their careers to date. The pair discuss how the EIF has been instrumental in expanding the SRT market into new jurisdictions, by leveraging preexisting relationships with issuers. Georgi and Thomas also explain how, in a time of abundant liquidity, taking a more junior position in the capital structure helps the EIF achieve maximum impact for its money and produces several times more lending than its initial investment. Finally they discuss how they got into structured finance, what appeals about working at the EIF and the importance maintaining a long term view.

For a special episode of Another Fine Mezz this week, GlobalCapital’s senior securitization reporter George Smith was joined by Dipesh Mehta, Funding Circle’s chief capital officer. Funding Circle is one of limited number of issuers offering European ABS investors the opportunity to get SME exposure. Of late however, with regulators making the right noises and with more issuers bringing different types of deals online, the SME ABS market is deepening. Mehta was keen to see that continue, to bring more points of comparison and more liquidity to the market. He also said Funding Circle was keen to keep its public issuance going, with eight deals so far, the latest in May 2024. In the second half of the show, Mehta reflected on his career so far. He shared his memories of a dramatic moment during the GFC, when the entire Barclays trading fell silent. He also discussed the experience of going through the upheaval of the pandemic working in SME lending. Another Fine Mezz will be back with more special episodes before Christmas, including more from the SRT series, before the regular weekly episodes resume in January.

GlobalCapital's securitization podcasting trio reunite for one last episode. Former CLO reporter, now freelancer, Victoria Thiele is back on the show, but host Tom Lemmon said goodbye. George Smith meanwhile remains in post, stoic as ever. He attended DealCatalyst's ABSF conference in London on November 25 and shared his take on the big themes under discussion. There was also exciting news in the CLO market. Barings won the race for Europe's first middle market deal. Victoria explained the many challenges of getting the deal away. In ABS, 2024 has produced a bumper crop of ESG issuance. For a sector of the market that has seen a few false dawns, Tom explained why the boost in supply will hopefully be permanent this time.