Contents

CLOs

US CLO fintech expands presence whilst navigating regulation, loan scarcity

Siepe's US$30M investment fuels innovation in CLO optimisation while addressing regulations and increasing demand for private credit

With the recent expansion of Siepe’s operations to Europe and Malaysia, the US-based fintech providing solutions for CLO and private credit managers highlights regulation hurdles and supply scarcity as the main challenges it has encountered.

Speaking to SCI, Siepe CEO Michael Pusateri, says despite the challenges interplay between client needs and regulatory influences creates a compelling narrative about the future of credit markets.

He explains: "Our goal is to be a trusted technology partner for asset managers. Rather than having multiple vendors, we aim to provide a consistent service and data delivery with a single vendor. This was the impetus for creating our Dublin, London, and Malaysia offices."

Pusateri also notes that despite the limited number of European loans available for structured products, investor appetite still remains robust.

He says: “While the European loan market is smaller than the US market for loans and corporate lending, it has grown significantly in recent years. Also, a substantial portion of US CLO investors are from Europe and Asia, highlighting strong global demand. If the European market continues to expand, it could unlock even greater potential for CLO investment within the region.”

However, Basel regulations, which set international standards and minimums for bank capital requirements, including stress tests, liquidity regulations, and leverage, represent a new aspect the US market is preparing to deal with.

"Basel regulations that originated in Europe are now making their way to the United States and are de-risking the banks. Consequently, banks are unable to lend as they can't hold those loans on their balance sheets, which has fostered the growth of the private credit market. This shift has been demanded by a regulatory landscape that constrains banks' risk-taking abilities," he adds.

Siepe's expansion into Europe and Malaysia is a response to client requests for coverage in these regions, leading to a successful capital raise to support this initiative.

Pusateri explains: "We raised US$30m through the Series B funding last year to facilitate geographic expansion, as several clients expressed interest in our support when they expanded into Europe."

He highlights the differences in the CLO market between Europe and the US, noting that every European trade must be pre-approved before entering the CLO market, a requirement not present in the US. "These distinctions illustrate the operational nuances of European and US CLOs, although from a technology standpoint, the differences are minimal," he adds.

Growing the team

To aid in this expansion, Siepe says it has appointed Phong Lam as managing director for the EMEA region. Lam previously held the position of global head of CLO product strategy at Deutsche Bank.

Pusateri describes him as a technology forward thinker, capable of addressing client needs through innovative solutions.

"His experience on both the banking and service provider sides enable him to craft solutions that meet clients' varied demands and positions."

The company says it plans to expand aggressively particularly in Malaysia, when it comes to staffing.

Pusateri says: "We recently conducted our first job posting and received around 150 resumes, following strong interest despite the strong competition in Malaysia. We narrowed this down to 30 candidates, from which we identified 10 exceptional resumes."

Enhancing optimisation features

Looking ahead, Siepe says it plans to innovate its product offerings by focusing on enhancing existing features in the area of optimisation, using the US$30m it has raised.

"Optimising CLOs and having an optimiser that sits on top of both borrowing base deals and CLO structures is a key investment that we're going to make in the space. We'll continue to expand out the use of AI and machine learning in the product and also use AI to help onboard new deals onto the platform in a quicker and more reliable manner," he adds.

Pusateri points out that Siepe focuses on enhancing transparency and reporting for both their collateral administration clients and middle office clients, which are crucial to the platform.

“Being able to conduct hypothetical analyses across 40+ CLOs and leverage facilities to determine buying power and optimise financing costs, regardless of whether they are European or American, is a significant feature that our team is working on and plans to release later this year,” he concludes.

Camilla Vitanza

Capital Relief Trades

EIB inks SRT with Czech lender

SRT to support Czech SMEs and mid-caps

The EIB Group has completed a new synthetic securitisation with Czech bank Ceska Sporitelna (CSAS).

Under the transaction, the EIF will provide a €55m unfunded guarantee in a mezzanine tranche with the objective of enabling CSAS to expand to expand lending to SMEs and mid-caps in the Czech Republic. The junior and senior tranches are retained by CSAS. The transaction’s structure – which references a €709m portfolio – features synthetic excess spread, pro-rata amortisation (subject to performance trigger) and a replenishment period of three years.

The agreement gives CSAS leeway under rules on bank capital to expand financing for Czech SMEs and mid-caps by a total of around €228m. Furthermore, the operation and aims to promote Czech business activity, employment, and regional development. A large proportion (estimated ex-ante at 80%) of the new lending will be in cohesion regions.

Vincent Nadeau

ABS

Aircraft ABS to return to pre-covid cruising altitudes

Four deals in quick succession suggest 2025 will significantly outpace last year's activity

Aircraft ABS is on track to return to pre-Covid levels following some quieter years. Issuance is predicted to reach US$10bn this year – almost twice the levels of 2024 – with secondary trading and aviation loan markets expected to be highly active throughout the rest of 2025.

Bullish sentiment is taking over the market, according to Rich Barnett, partner and head of distribution at Castlelake, who emphasises the expectations around aircraft ABS for this year. “Demand has been robust, and transactions are significantly oversubscribed. The market feels really solid right now and investors are interested in it based on the levels of demand that we've seen.” He adds: “I think we are headed towards spreads that are similar to pre-Covid spreads at this point in time.”

The first quarter of 2025 has already seen four public deals with an aggregate value of US$2.5bn. Carlyle Group opened this year’s aircraft ABS market with AASET 2025-1 (sized at US$518m), which priced in January. The deal was followed by PIMCO’s GHOST 2025-1 (US$600m) in February, along with Castlelake’s CLAST 2025-1 (US$820m) and Altavair’s ALTDE 2025-1 (US$583m). By comparison, issuance reached US$5.7bn in the entirety of last year – just over twice the amount – with 10 public deals announced.

For Kalash Pandey, md at Goldman Sachs, the high level of activity in the market is setting an expectation that this year’s issuance could even reach twice the amount seen in 2024. “Given the market was only active for half of 2024, versus this year, when we have already seen four issuances in the months of January and February, it would imply that if similar momentum continues, it should almost be twice the 2024 volume,” he says.

This momentum is mainly driven by an active secondary trading market. Barnett points out that uncertainty about whether the E-note market will reopen soon could impact overall aircraft ABS volume this year.

“One of the things that drove volumes pre-Covid was that some of the larger lessors were selling portfolios via E-note sales. That market has not reopened yet,” he says. “I know some of the banks are anticipating it reopening potentially later this year, but without that structure, it is unclear if we’ll get back to pre-Covid volumes this year or not.”

Nonetheless, for Goldman Sachs’s Pandey, aircraft ABS is set for a good year. “We still don't expect the E-note type of issuers to come back to the market in the very near term. But just with the issuers that look at the ABS market for term financing, we think it can drive towards a US$10bn type volume,” he explains.

Aviation ABS to follow

Beyond aircraft deals, other aviation-related securities - including engine, business jets and aircraft loans - are expected to see opportunistic growth during the year, as Pandey explains. Aircraft ABS, he says, will still drive most of the volumes, but overall growth should be seen in all aviation sub-sectors.

“I think overall issuance volumes in aviation [ABS] will grow,” says Pandey. “How much the individual buckets [such as loan ABS, engine, business jets] grow, it can be a bit more opportunistic. In general, the improved fundamentals of the industry now seem to be in line with the pre-Covid years, and volume is likely to be similar.”

Marina Torres

Asset-Backed Finance

Blackstone and ITE Management ink US$2bn strategic partnership

The deal includes a minority investment and a forward-flow agreement

Funds managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) have acquired a minority stake in ITE Management and committed up to US$2bn in capital via a forward-flow agreement, fuelling a joint push in transportation infrastructure finance. 

The partnership aims to leverage BXCI and ITE’s expertise to tap into growing asset backed finance (ABF) opportunities in rail, intermodal, specialty aviation, port equipment, and electric vehicles.

“Our firm will benefit from Blackstone’s debt and equity financing as well as its expansive global network,” says Jason Koenig, co-founder of ITE. 

Robert Horn, BXCI's global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit, echoes this sentiment: “ITE is a respected leader in the transportation infrastructure space, where they own, operate, and finance critical assets that support key segments of the US economy.” 

Transaction proceeds will support the development of existing ITE products and fund new initiatives. Despite Blackstone’s minority investment, ITE will remain independent, led by co-founders Jason Koenig and David Smilow.

Goldman Sachs acted as ITE's exclusive financial advisor in the deal, while Weil, Gotshal, and Manges provided legal counsel. On Blackstone’s side, Guggenheim Securities provided financial advisory services, and Kirkland & Ellis offered legal counsel.

Blackstone’s third-party credit juggernaut vision

The move aligns with Blackstone’s broader strategy of scaling its private credit platform and asset-backed financing efforts. 

“We’ve built a private credit juggernaut, and the largest third-party business of its kind in the world, with over US$450bn of total assets across corporate and real estate credit,” says Jonathan Gray, president of Blackstone.  

BXCI’s infrastructure and asset-based credit platform, currently managing over US$90bn in assets, provides investment-grade and non-investment-grade credit, and structured investments across sectors such as digital infrastructure, consumer finance, energy transition, commercial finance and residential real estate. 

“We are building a third-party performing credit juggernaut, and we expect our business to grow significantly from here,” says Gray. 

Marta Canini

Capital Relief Trades

Latest SRTx fixings released

Slight retreat from last month's widening

As the prospect of a barrage of trade tariffs increases significantly, policy rates are very likely to remain restrictive. In fact, such macro-political environment strongly supports the view of policy rates staying higher versus pre-pandemic levels. In this context, the illiquidity premium found and associated with private credit means buy-and-hold SRT investors can potentially find additional return opportunities.

As recently reported, SRT spreads appear to be finding a floor following significant tightening, particularly during the second half of 2024. In its latest SRT (Reg Cap) market update, Seer Capital Management suggests that a number of very large private credit managers who were seeking to enter the SRT market to deploy large tickets seem to have become frustrated and moved on. Such exit could naturally account for the potential shift in spreads.

While the latest SRTx fixings report a slight firming up in spreads, this can (and should) be analysed as a settling in or consolidation from last month’s (historical) widening from SRTx’s tightest spreads on record (Large corporate: EU -1.88%, US -2.2%; SME: EU -4.4%, US -1.5%). Market sources still report spreads as landing around 100bps tighter than 1H2024 prints.

The SRTx Spread Indexes now stand at 808, 550, 860 and 944 for the SRTx CORP EU, SRTx CORP US, SRTx SME EU and SRTx SME US categories respectively, as of the 7 March valuation date.

Regarding volatility, the latest data generally points – perhaps unsurprisingly given the broader macro context – to a sentiment of higher risk. Regarding large corporates, the values have settled at 58 for both the EU (+16.7%) and US (-10.3%). The SME segment struggles slightly more (EU +27.8%, US +15.6%).

The SRTx Volatility Index values now stand at 58, 58, 64 and 65 for the SRTx CORP VOL EU, SRTx CORP VOL US, SRTx SME VOL EU and SRTx SME VOL US indexes respectively.

Similarly, the liquidity fixings reveal a discrepancy between both jurisdictions (Large corporate: EU +12.6%, US -9.7%; SME: EU +12.6%, US -20.0%). However, this can perceived as a reset from last month’s sentiment. Additionally all values stand safely just above the 50 benchmark.

The SRTx Liquidity Indexes stand at 53, 54, 53 and 55 across SRTx CORP LIQ EU, SRTx CORP LIQ US, SRTx SME LIQ EU and SRTx SME LIQ US respectively.

Finally, the credit risk values have stabilised in the EU (Large corporate: -15.8%; SME: -15.8%) and currently sit exactly on the 50 benchmark. In the US however we are witnessing the opposite sentiment, with the latest data and sentiment likely following tariffs and the recession talks expressed towards the end of the month (Large corporate: +14.3%; SME: +3.0%). Consequently, from a market standpoint, the credit curves steepened.

The SRTx Credit Risk Indexes now stand at 50 for SRTx CORP RISK EU, 57 for SRTx CORP RISK US, 50 for SRTx SME RISK EU and 71 for SRTx SME RISK US.

SRTx coverage includes large corporate and SME reference pools across the EU and US economic regions. The index suite comprises a quantitative spread index - which is based on survey estimates for a representative transaction (the SRTx Benchmark Deal) that has specified terms for structure and portfolio composition - and three qualitative indexes, which measure market sentiment on pricing volatility, transaction liquidity and credit risk.

Specifically, the SRTx Volatility Indexes gauge market sentiment for the magnitude of fixed-spread pricing volatility over the near term. The index scale is 0-100, with levels above 50 indicating a higher proportion of respondents estimating volatility moving higher.

The SRTx Liquidity Indexes gauge market sentiment for SRT execution conditions in terms of successfully completing a deal in the near term. Again, the index scale is 0-100, with levels above 50 indicating a higher proportion of respondents estimating that liquidity is worsening.

Finally, the SRTx Credit Risk Indexes gauge market sentiment on the direction of fundamental SRT reference pool credit risk over the near term. The index scale is 0-100, with levels above 50 indicating a higher proportion of respondents estimating that credit risk is worsening.

The objective of the index suite is to depict changes in market sentiment, the magnitude of such change and the dispersion of market opinion around volatility, liquidity and credit risk.

The indexes are surveyed on a monthly basis and recalculated on the last trading day of the month. SCI is the index licensor and the calculation agent is Mark Fontanilla & Co.

For further information on SRTx or to register your interest as a contributor to the index, click here.

Vincent Nadeau

Capital Relief Trades

Deep dive

Basel Committee launches SRT investigation

In a press release published yesterday, the Basil Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) announced its intention to launch an investigation assessing the benefits and risks posed by SRTs.

As part of its ongoing work to assess banks' interconnections with non-bank financial intermediation, BCBS agreed to conduct over the coming year a deep-dive investigation on SRTs.

Commenting on the news, one SRT investor was somewhat ambivalent: “I don’t really have a strong view on the announcement yet, particularly given the historical opacity of the BCBS. However what it clearly suggests is that the regulatory scrutiny is increasing.”

Another investor points to its potential impact on the investor base: "Looking at the context of this press release, it looks like the Basel Committee will focus on leverage offered by bank to SRT investors with a possible ripple effect on unfunded investors."

Vincent Nadeau

RMBS

Paragon's covered bond revives BTL RMBS HQLA debate

JP Morgan questions regulatory inconsistencies as covered bonds gain HQLA status while BTL RMBS remain excluded

Paragon Bank’s recent foray into the covered bond market has reignited the debate over High-Quality Liquid Asset (HQLA) eligibility for BTL RMBS. While Paragon’s new covered bond enjoys HQLA Level 1 status under the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), senior BTL RMBS bonds remain ineligible, even if they meet STS criteria.

The UK lender, historically a major issuer of BTL RMBS, priced its inaugural benchmark covered bond at SONIA+60, marking a shift in its funding strategy. Backed entirely by BTL mortgages, the covered bond saw strong investor demand, with a final order book exceeding £1.4bn.

In a recent report, JP Morgan analysts highlight the regulatory inconsistency in HQLA treatment, noting that while covered bonds with BTL exposure qualify as Level 1 assets, BTL RMBS, even those with top-tier credit enhancements, are categorically excluded from HQLA consideration. “What stands out to us is that, for UK investors, the new covered bond is intended to be treated as HQLA Level 1 under the LCR and HQLA Level 2a for EU investors. This stands in rather stark contrast to the treatment of senior BTL RMBS bonds, which are categorically ineligible to be HQLA assets at all,” JP Morgan analysts note.

The exclusion stems from LCR rules requiring that residential loans backing Level 2b securitisations must be granted to individuals for the purchase of their main residence, a criterion that BTL mortgages do not meet. JP Morgan analysts argue that this discrepancy warrants reconsideration. “We don’t argue against the validity of the Level 1 treatment of such covered bonds, but rather want to advocate for the possibility of BTL RMBS being Level 2b by addressing the inherent discrepancy in the eligibility of BTL mortgage collateral,” they state.

Market participants argue that the STS framework should provide a pathway for BTL RMBS to gain at least Level 2b eligibility. Shawbrook Bank’s Lanebrook platform is currently the only UK BTL RMBS issuer to obtain the STS label, a process that entails rigorous regulatory compliance.

JP Morgan analysts suggest that expanding HQLA eligibility could encourage more issuers to pursue the STS label and improve market liquidity. “Though there are other hurdles to address, expanding the eligibility for HQLA Level 2b securitisations to include BTL RMBS could encourage more BTL issuers to seek the STS label and broaden participation in BTL RMBS deals,” the report states.

Selvaggia Cataldi

CLOs

CLO secondary trades show appetite for equity tranches

CLO Research Group's Poh-Heng Tan provides insights on recent CLO equity BWIC activity

Timing is always crucial in trading, and it is no surprise that selling CLO equity tranches in today’s strong market can be rewarding, says Poh-Heng Tan, founder of CLO Research Group.

Recent BWIC colour on CLO equity tranches indicates that many have traded very well. Looking at trades that took place between 27 February and 6 March, IRRs reflect what primary investors would have achieved, assuming a 95 primary issue price.

Starting with 2016–2017 vintage deals, Generate CLO 3 recorded an IRR of 13.4%, based on a cover price of 42.8%. This is considered one of the top-performing equity tranches from that vintage. Many of its peers, which have been fully liquidated, delivered considerably lower IRRs. Madison Park Funding XLII also performed well, achieving a 13.6% IRR based on a cover price of 36.7%. For these older vintages, an IRR above 12% is generally regarded as strong.

Turning to 2019 vintage deals, Dryden 75 CLO recorded an IRR of 10.7%, while Madison Park Funding XXXII and Aurium CLO achieved IRRs of 11.7% and 13.3%, respectively. For a US CLO from the 2019 vintage, an IRR of 11.7% appears to be in line with the median IRR observed so far.

However, a key consideration is that the number of fully liquidated 2019 vintage deals remains limited. Elmwood CLO I, with an IRR of 18.1%, stands out as particularly strong, especially given that equity IRRs are typically constrained to some extent by incentive fees. For EU CLOs from the 2019 vintage, an IRR of 13.3% is solid when considered in isolation.

Looking at 2021 vintage deals, Kings Park CLO and Carlyle Euro CLO 2020-2 both recorded single-digit IRRs—relatively low for equity tranches on a standalone basis—despite achieving healthy annual distributions of around 17%–19%. This serves as a reminder not to mistake annual distributions for overall equity returns.

2021 vintage deals generally face below-average equity NAVs, particularly in the US market, but their eventual performance remains to be seen.

Some more recently issued equity tranches, such as Elmwood CLO 17, Elmwood CLO VII, and Madison Park Euro Funding XIX, have delivered strong IRRs in the range of 15.6% to 18.3%. Primary investors would be pleased to have invested in these equity tranches.

Poh-Heng Tan

CLOs

Reflections on the recent CLO equity BWIC of 11 March

Poh-Heng Tan from CLO Research provides insights on a recent CLO equity list

Based on SCI BWIC data, between 17 July 2024 and 8 March 2025, approximately 66 US CLO equity tranches from the 2021 vintage appeared on BWIC lists, where list owners provided colour on the equity tranches. Based on this colour, US CLO equity tranches from the 2021 vintage recorded a median IRR of 7.8%, with the 75th percentile at 12.3% and the 25th percentile at 3.0%.

The table below presents selected CLO equity trades from 11 March 2025, with IRRs reflecting the IRRs primary investors would have achieved, assuming a US$95 primary issue price.

Source: SCI, CLO Research, Intex

Two equity tranches from the 2021 vintage traded with disclosed covers. Based on these covers, the IRRs ranged from 4.5% to 6.3%, indicating that primary investors would have achieved IRRs in the 25th to 50th percentile range.

On the other hand, Barings CLO 2022-IV delivered an impressive 19.0% IRR, benefiting from well-timed execution. This deal, managed by Barings, was priced on 4 October 2022, when the Morningstar LSTA US B/BB Ratings Loan Index was at an attractive level of 93.3. This enabled the deal to acquire assets at a meaningful discount and build substantial par.

Its strong annual distribution was largely driven by an initial payout of 12.3% and a significant distribution of 23.8% upon reset in October 2024. The equity tranche also traded on 29 October at a cover price of US$85.5, following the large 23.8% distribution. At this cover price, primary investors would have achieved a much higher IRR of 25.8%. This also underscores how waves of underlying loan repricing can pose challenges for long-dated CLO equity.

Turning to another late 2020-vintage deal, KKR CLO 32, managed by KKR, the underlying asset prices had already rallied significantly since hitting a low in June 2020. Given where this deal acquired its assets, it closely resembles a regular arbitrage deal in a more normalised market.

Its IRR of 11.5%, based on a cover price of US$56.8, is broadly in line with the target 12% IRR set by its incentive fee IRR threshold. That said, based on cover prices for this equity tranche on 20 November 2024 and 7 March 2024, IRRs would have been 12.9%, suggesting that primary investors would have been slightly better off selling in either November 2024 or March 2024.

However, if we consider the cover price on 5 April 2023 - when the loan market was still weak and the CLO reset market remained closed - primary investors would have been significantly worse off, with an IRR of just 1.3%.

Asset-Backed Finance

Bridging finance business set to scale amid market demand

Faes & Co ceo Christian Faes outlines his strategy to expand the firm's footprint in the US

Faes & Co, the investment firm led by former LendInvest founder Christian Faes, plans to expand its US real estate bridging finance business following a funding boost from OakNorth Bank last month. The firm launched its lending arm, F2 Finance, in early 2023 and is currently providing short-term RE loans across 14 states, including California, Texas and Florida.

In an exclusive conversation with SCI at SFVegas, Faes expressed his confidence in the sector’s growth potential. “There is a housing crisis in the US. More than half of the homes are over 40 years old and in desperate need of rehabilitation and repair, while new housing supply has lagged for decades,” he notes. “Bridging finance is essential for property entrepreneurs tackling this challenge, and the investment outlook for the sector is very strong.”

Faes & Co has taken a strategic approach to expansion, focusing on states with favourable foreclosure laws to maintain asset liquidity. “We don’t feel the need to be in all 50 states. Some states, like New York, can be difficult; and Hawaii, for example, where foreclosures can take up to six years, just don’t make sense for us,” explains Faes.

F2 Finance’s competitive edge 

With US real estate lending being an extremely competitive space, Faes highlights how F2 Finance is differentiating itself. A key factor has been the firm’s ability to bring in capital from outside the US, particularly from the UK.

“US banks tend to offer standard terms that everyone gets. By tapping into international investors and accredited funds, we can structure deals outside the traditional credit box,” he explains. 

One particularly successful niche has been lending to foreign nationals, an area many US institutions avoid due to borrowers lacking a FICO score or social security number. “We get a lot of business from UK brokers and international clients who assume they’ll have no problem getting a loan, only to find they ‘don’t exist’ in the eyes of US banks. That’s where we step in,” notes Faes. 

The power of a diversified funding base

The partnership with OakNorth, a digital bank known for backing entrepreneurial businesses, will help Faes & Co expand further in a market estimated at US$40bn-US$50bn in annual originations. 

The move to the US was always part of Faes’s entrepreneurial plan. “I spent 15 years building LendInvest in London and, after taking it public, I knew I wanted to build something in the US. The sheer scale of the market here is incredible,” says Faes. 

As F2 Finance grows, Faes remains focused on ensuring a diversified funding base, leveraging relationships from his LendInvest days to avoid reliance on any single capital source. “Having multiple funding partners makes the business more resilient. It’s something we’ll keep building on,” he concludes. 

Marta Canini

Structured Finance

Job swaps weekly: Wellington launches private real estate credit platform

People moves and key promotions in securitisation

This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Wellington Management make a number of appointments to its newly launched private real estate credit platform. Elsewhere, KBRA Analytics has named a new chief strategy officer, while Marsh has appointed a head of political risk and structured credit.

Wellington Management has expanded its private investing capabilities with the formation of a private real estate credit platform. The firm has hired Ravi Anand as portfolio manager and head of private real estate credit, along with three seasoned investors, to build the debt platform. The initial team of four brings decades of combined experience and most recently worked together within PIMCO’s commercial real estate debt platform.

Based in New York, Wellington’s private real estate credit team will focus primarily on originating senior and subordinated loans across property sectors in North America, with the potential to expand to global markets. Anand was previously evp, global co-head of CRE debt and head of US private CRE debt at PIMCO. Before that, he was a first vp (investments) with the CIM Group and with the large loan/institutional accounts lending team at GE Capital Real Estate.

The other members of the team include: portfolio manager Zeyu Chen (who was previously an svp at PIMCO, having worked at CIM Group before that); principal Michael Chen (who was previously a vp at PIMCO, having worked at Apollo Global Management before that); and associate Lucas Dias-Lam (who was previously an associate at PIMCO, having worked at Bellwether Asset Management before that).

Meanwhile, Jonathan Sebagh is set to lead KBRA Analytics as chief strategy officer. In this role, he will lead strategic initiatives and collaborate closely with teams across the organisation to enhance the company’s product portfolio. Sebagh joined KBRA in 2016 and most recently served as senior md of product management for KBRA.

Additionally, Steve Kuritz is dedicating his leadership to advancing KBRA Credit Profile (KCP), KBRA Analytics’ CMBS data, loan performance and market insights platform. He spearheaded KCP’s launch 12 years ago and is tasked with further expanding the service’s capabilities and innovation.

Marsh has promoted Alexia Somnolet to head of political risk and structured credit - Europe, based in Paris. She was previously svp - lenders solutions group leader, Europe, at the firm, which she joined in February 2021. Before that, Somnolet was associate director - GTB risk and portfolio optimisation at UniCredit in Milan.

Arrow Global Group has hired The Office Group’s former ceo Enrico Sanna as ceo of platforms, which will see him lead the firm’s asset-backed platform strategy. Based in London, he will join the firm’s executive board, reporting to Arrow founder, ceo and chief investment officer Zach Lewy.

Sanna founded Fora – which adopted an asset-backed business model focusing on flexible office spaces – in 2017. The business then merged with Blackstone-backed The Office Group in 2022, with Sanna taking the role of ceo at the combined group before stepping down in November 2024. Sanna previously held roles as global head of operating assets at Deutsche Bank and vp in the strategic and planning group at American Express.

And finally, John Murphy has joined Paul Hastings as a partner in New York. His practice focuses on structured finance and securitisation, including the repackaging and securitising of both traditional and non-traditional assets and related warehouse lending, with an emphasis on serving as deal counsel and collateral manager counsel on US CLOs. Murphy was previously a partner at DLA Piper, which he joined in July 2017 from Sidley Austin.

Corinne Smith, Kenny Wastell