In a testament to the ravenous appetite for European paper, ABN Amro placed the largest securitization deal of the decade – the 22 billion (26.31 billion) Shield 1 transaction that has earned it the accolade of European Runner-Up Deal of the Year.
The Shield 1 transaction consists of 4 billion ($4.78 billion) in fully funded credit-linked notes issued by Shield 1 B.V., split into six tranches all maturing in Jan. 2012. A super senior swap will be entered into for the remainder of the 22 billion reference portfolio. “ABN Amro’s deal should be noted for its sheer volume of subordinated notes that seem to all have been placed,” said one market source.
This transaction shows the ability of derivative technology to effect quick and efficient risk transfer for large RMBS portfolios and sets an interesting precedent for other regulated banks that are cash rich but still need to manage their RMBS regulatory balance sheet. One other interesting aspect of the structure is that the reference portfolio includes the mortgage loans that are included in the covered bond portfolio.
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