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Asset-Backed Finance

BciCapital targets CRE NAV gap in US market

Structured products platform deploys US$2bn as it carves a niche in bespoke ABF

BciCapital is rapidly gaining traction in the US asset-backed finance market, after deploying nearly US$2bn since launching in mid-2024. Bolstered by 16 recently recruited practitioners from various global and foreign investment banks, the platform has identified and exploited gaps in commercial real estate NAV lending that larger competitors have overlooked.

"We're building relationships. We're looking to be here in the long term in serving as partners for our clients," says Brian Mulligan, co-head of institutional financial sponsors, who joined BciCapital in 2Q24.

Operating under Bci Financial Group - a global financial institution with approximately US$100bn in assets and a presence in the US, Latin America and Asia - BciCapital targets mid-market financial sponsors ranging between U$5bn and U$50bn-plus in AUM, a segment the firm believes has been underserved by traditional banks and non-banks. The firm focuses on three core products: fund-level finance, including subscription and NAV financing; GP solutions, covering management fees and GP financing; and multi-product ABF facilities, spanning first-out leverage, warehousing and repos across various sectors.

"We're offering the same solutions you'd get at UBS, JPMorgan and others alike for clients in this actual segment," says Raul Llanes, head of BciCapital, who began building out the strategy in late 2023. "Our most valuable edge in the market is solving a complex financing for the ‘missing middle’ within the financial sponsors segment across multi-product and multi-asset classes."

Following the 2023 banking crisis, the firm is capitalising on structural shifts in the ABF market that drove borrowers towards private credit lenders and insurance companies, as Llanes notes that there are “a lot more lenders in the market”.

According to Mulligan, large asset managers are increasingly building ABF strategies, thereby creating room for new partnership opportunities. He explains that these managers possess strong underwriting capabilities but sometimes lack origination pipelines, turning to BciCapital as a ‘feeder’ and partner.

“As a feeder and partner, we have a wide net of the overall market with our dedicated deal teams focusing on North America, for which our partners would provide back-leverage or act as a participant in our transactions more frequently,” he says.

BciCapital has carved out specific niches, particularly in CLO debt and equity financing, CMBS, 40 Act funds and infrastructure credit fund back leverage. By offering an extension of solutions, the BciCapital team have continued to deepen relationships with new and existing financial sponsor relationships across their platforms and strategies.

Monetising the NAV opportunity

Notably, BciCapital has identified NAV lending as a promising area, as it is working on extending credit against diversified portfolios of properties, loans and secondary funds, leveraging the parent organisation's US$12bn traditional CRE book in the US.

“We have a great understanding of and foothold in commercial real estate," Llanes explains. "What we've layered on is marrying the structured product solutions - looking at large family offices, private credit or private equity in commercial real estate and learning not just traditional property level financing, but also monetising a diversified pool base."

For Mulligan, the firm's deep understanding of property markets has proved decisive in filling in this gap. "We've been able to structure around a lot of interesting challenges within portfolios or investment strategies that's enabled us to be a meaningful partner to commercial real estate owners and operators, both the corporate and private fund managers," he says.

Llanes notes that the team has executed transactions backed by CMBS securitisation strips across both investment-grade and non-investment-grade components, as well as credit NAV deals for top HUD lenders seeking to monetise residual equities. "Besides traditional warehousing or note-on-note or back leverage, we monetise their actual residual equities across our platform," he says.

Though the CRE market has endured rising interest rates, declining valuations and increased defaults in recent years, Llanes sees a recovery ahead as monetary policy loosens. "With rates coming back down and liquidity going back to market in key markets, I think we're in a recovery phase," he says, noting that CMBS triple-A tranches now trade at around 150bp to 175bp, significantly wider than CLO equivalents.

Marina Torres

Capital Relief Trades

EIB eyes Baltics as next SRT frontier

Bank scaling up activity amid push to open emerging markets

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is seeking to scale up its synthetic securitisation activity across the Baltics, as the region emerges as a prominent frontier for structured credit in Europe. The bank sees attractive opportunities across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and is already actively working to bring new originators into the fold.

Damyan Popovski, a structured products banker within EIB’s debt and structured investments division for the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe, tells SCI that between two and three transactions are anticipated within the next 18 months. “EIBG being the first large investor in the Baltics showed the way to go about the market,” Popovski says, referencing EIB’s past work with Luminor and Citadele on their first securitisations.

“Smaller institutions are welcome to approach us. We have all the instruments to help new originators tap into this market and see the benefit of doing SRT trades with us,” he continues.

While the region remains emerging compared to jurisdictions like Poland, the EIB believes its interventions will accelerate market development through both balance sheet relief and expertise.

Popovski notes that full-stack transactions – in which the EIB typically takes positions in both the mezzanine and senior tranches – are proving particularly effective for smaller issuers. These structures, he adds, benefit from a streamlined regulatory process, deliver greater capital relief and are well suited to institutions operating under the standardised approach. The EIB can consider transaction sizes as low as €100m-€150m.

“In smaller markets like the Baltics, this is the way to go,” he says. “We cannot really do very small tickets, so scaling up transactions improves the economics for both sides.”

Cohesion and efficiency targeted

The EIB’s work in the Baltics fits into its broader policy goal of improving credit conditions and financing costs for local SMEs and mid-caps – a segment that is currently facing some of the highest interest rates in Europe. “High funding costs hinder development and innovation. Through securitisation, EIB can intervene to fix the problem - lowering on the one hand the funding costs for the issuers and on the other hand the interest rates for new lending, ultimately supporting economic growth,” Popovski observes.

The bank’s SRT and structured credit operations are also designed to stimulate private investor participation in the longer term, similarly to Poland, where EIB-backed transactions helped catalyse a now thriving private SRT market.

With respect to pricing conditions, Popovski is clear about EIB’s equal opportunities approach: “There is no discrimination. We price only our risk; it is purely data-driven. If the portfolio is good, the pricing will be low, regardless of whether it is in Western Europe or the Baltics.”

He highlights the flexibility of Baltic-originated portfolios, where assets can be pooled across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, provided the underwriting standards are consistent.

This cross-border technique helps the investor to overcome natural market fragmentation, while facilitating larger, more efficient transactions. “The Baltics are usually treated as a whole to optimise transaction economics. That makes it easier for originators to reach the right size for a viable structure,” Popovski says.

Smaller banks in focus

With the Nordic-owned players already well-capitalised, the EIB’s focus is rather on smaller and locally owned institutions. Citadele, Luminor and Inbank are a few examples of banks that have successfully partnered with the EIB in the past or could be seen as candidates for future deals.

“Smaller local institutions, especially those without international shareholders, struggle to access the market,” Popovski tells SCI. “That is our sweet spot – to help such institutions take the next step of their development.”

EIB hopes to announce one or two new securitisation transactions in the Baltics over the next 12 months, although Popovski cautiones that onboarding new originators takes time. “We are patient investors. With new originators, the process can take up to a year, but that is part of our role: helping them build the necessary internal capacity and paving the road for future private-sector participation. And to support that growth, EIB provides a comprehensive advisory package, included free of charge with many transactions.” 

Nadezhda Bratanova

Capital Relief Trades

SRT: Identifying comps as yields tighten - video

Alantra's Jeremy Hermant speaks to SCI about comparative value and pricing in a climate of SRT yield tightening

Jeremy Hermant, special advisor with SRT arranger Alantra, speaks to Simon Boughey, SCI US editor, about comparative value and pricing in a climate of SRT yield tightening. He discusses which areas of the yield curve are compressing faster than others, and also what assets Alantra looks at for assessments of comparative value. He also tells us how investors value assets – which is particularly tricky as the secondary market for SRT assets is so thin.

Simon Boughey

ABS

Enpal debuts first public solar and heat pump ABS

Golden Ray 2 marks the next stage in funding Europe's renewable energy transition

Enpal is in the market with its highly-anticipated second consumer ABS, Golden Ray 2, marking the first public securitisation to include both residential solar and heat pump loans. The €302.9m transaction is backed by receivables originated by Enpal and Enpal Heat, and represents the next phase of the company’s financing strategy, following the success of Golden Ray 1 last year and its €700m warehouse announced last month.

Moody’s and Scope have both assigned provisional ratings to Golden Ray 2, citing the blended collateral mix, long loan tenors and limited historical data for heat pump receivables. Scope additionally highlights the portfolio’s strong borrower credit quality and granular composition across 9,443 contracts, supported by 13.87% senior credit enhancement and a 1% liquidity reserve. Mitigants to Enpal’s limited track record are provided through back-up servicing and structural safeguards.

However, according to Moody’s, Golden Ray 2 is exposed to “a new combination of credit risks” stemming from the novel collateral mix and longer loan maturities. Still, the structure benefits from an independent cash manager, a back-up servicer and principal-to-pay-interest mechanisms.

“Golden Ray 2 sets a new milestone for Europe’s energy transition as the world’s first public issuance to include both residential solar and heat pumps. Enpal is proud to lead the way as a pioneer in this asset class, demonstrating how securitisation can effectively channel private capital into the energy transition,” comments Gregor Burkart, svp of asset financing at Enpal.

The dawn of heat pump ABS?

Golden Ray 2 comes to market just a week after the release of a KBRA report highlighting heat pump financing as the next major frontier in distributed-energy ABS. The report notes that securitisation “can help expand access to funding for residential heat pump installations when performance and data transparency provide a clear basis for investor analysis.”

KBRA expects early examples of heat pump ABS to be made up primarily of unsecured consumer instalment loans or point-of-sale finance, typically sold into securitisation only after installation and borrower acceptance – thereby avoiding construction-stage risk. Early originators are likely to include banks, specialist clean-energy lenders and OEM-linked financing platforms.

However, heat pump financing remains in its infancy in Europe, with limited historical performance data and cashflows that are more seasonal than those of rooftop solar. Winter-summer variability and borrower sensitivity to system performance make modelling more challenging and increase the importance of first-year monitoring.

The rating agency identifies stable origination data, installation verification and warranty performance reporting as key to investor confidence in the first few transactions, while warning that limited track records and seasonal payment volatility may require enhanced liquidity coverage and structural protections.

Compared with solar ABS, heat pump portfolios show greater seasonal variability and higher borrower sensitivity to equipment reliability. As a result, liquidity, servicing standards and early-life monitoring require more robust calibration than in solar-only transactions.

KBRA places Golden Ray 2 within a wider policy and investment backdrop of the EU’s aims to reach roughly 60 million installed heat pumps by 2030 - more than double the 26 million in operation, as of 2025. While this creates a significant financing opportunity, the agency warns that origination volumes remain highly dependent on subsidies and regulatory stability, citing Germany’s 49% year-on-year drop in 2024 installations.

Looking ahead, KBRA expects heat pump receivables to appear more frequently in European consumer ABS over the next 12-24 months, often in blended portfolios alongside solar and other home-energy assets. Improved transparency and early deal performance are anticipated to boost investor comfort, while EU Taxonomy alignment and potential public sector guarantees could broaden access to more affordable financing for consumers.

Deals like Golden Ray 2 – which blend solar and heat pump collateral - are predicted by KBRA to be the dominant format in the next couple of years. The transaction reflects the structural enhancements the agency highlights for first-mover issuance, including stronger liquidity protection, post-installation asset verification, enhanced data reporting and tighter triggers.

For Enpal, Golden Ray 2 also represents a tangible step towards its ambition of becoming a regular ABS issuer. The company continues to expand its asset-light refinancing model, combining warehouse financing, public ABS and installer-facing origination platforms to support both solar and heat pump adoption across Europe.

Claudia Lewis

Asset-Backed Finance

Pearl Diver targets SRT strategy as LP demand strengthens

SRT market update

Pearl Diver Capital, the investment manager which last week announced the closing of its Pearl Diver Aquanaut Fund, plans to scale this flagship vehicle over the next two to three years through a growing pipeline of global risk transfer opportunities, it tells SCI.

Founded in 2008, the US$2.9bn Pearl Diver has hitherto focused on the CLO market, but is now spreading its wings to focus on SRT opportunities in the new fund.

It aims to leverage its 17-year track record in structured credit and established bank relationships to hit Aquanaut’s US$1.1bn target.

As global lenders turn increasingly to capital relief strategies to better manage capital exposure and concentration risk, demand to diversify exposure among LPs has also ramped up.

“We have seen demand for SRT strategies across our broad international institutional investor base, including family offices, pension funds, endowments, insurers and other asset managers,” says md Simon Davies.

Aquanaut’s will focus on corporate loan portfolios primarily across the US, Europe and the UK.

“While new geographies have begun issuing SRTs in recent years – particularly across Europe – we continue to see the strongest opportunities with large, established global banks whose portfolios offer embedded geographic and sector diversification, strong underwriting standards and a proven approach to risk transfer,” Davies explains.

For the largest SRT programmes, such as broad US and European exposure with strong industry diversification, Pearl Diver aims to snap up minimum ticket sizes of $100m. For smaller or newer entrants to the space, where reference portfolios are less diversified, minimum ticket sizes will be typically closer to or below $50m, the firm says.

Pearl Diver has been in dialogue with major issuers throughout the fund launch to ensure a disciplined ramp-up aligned with deal flow and market conditions in 2026.

Looking ahead, Aquanaut remains the manager’s core focus, though it sees potential for other thematic strategies as the market evolves. Any expansion, the firm says, would remain anchored in its pillars of data-driven work, structural discipline and long-term LP alignment.

Nadezhda Bratanova

Capital Relief Trades

Number four at Newmarket

SRT market update

Newmarket, the well-known US SRT investor, this week announced the closing of its fourth investment fund directed at SRT products, with over US$1bn in commitments.

The so-called Fund IV, described by the firm as a “commingled fund and associated investment vehicle” received support from a broad cross section of institutional buyers, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurers.

“We are pleased with the strong investor interest for Fund IV and continue to see growing interest in SRT transactions,” says Molly Whitehouse, portfolio manager for Newmarket’s SRT platform and an md and co-founder at Newmarket.

“More and more banks are utilizing SRTs across a broader range of asset classes,” she adds.

Fund IV seeks to “generate resilient and predictable income” while providing downside protection, the firm says.

In the last ten years, Newmarket has invested in more than $15bn of energy assets and more than $10bn in data centers, digital infrastructure, and transportation.

Newmarket declined to comment.

Simon Boughey

Capital Relief Trades

UK mortgage lenders at the forefront

SRT market roundup

The busiest quarter of the year in the global SRT market continues to fail to disappoint, with deals, rumours of deals and successful fund-raising by SRT-dedicated investors.

Deals referencing UK RMBS and CRE assets seem to be the talk of the town at the moment. Two lenders are poised to bring deals in the near future, say sources.

NatWest has plans to execute a significant risk transfer referencing £3.5bn of CRE loans, say reports. The SRT is expected to be sized at 7% of the reference portfolio.

Bank of Ireland is said to be working on a corporate SRT, understood to be their third from a programme

Commerzbank also aims to complete SRT deals worth €5bn in Q4, freeing up capital by reducing RWAs by €2.5–€3bn, according to reports.

Pearl Diver Capital, which hitherto has made its name as a CLO investment manager, told SCI this week it wants to build its new flagship Pearl Diver Aquanaut Fund to US$1.1bn over the next couple of years by sourcing growing risk transfer opportunities.

Newmarket Capital is a much more established SRT buyer, and this week it announced that its fourth SRT fund named, with sparkling originality, Fund IV, has closed with over US$1bn in commitments.

The SRT net also continues to be spread wider and wider. The EIB this week told SCI that it is increasing its presence in the Baltic republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia and intends to help bring two or three synthetic securitisations for new originators over the next 18 months.

It has already helped structure risk transfer deals by providing guarantees. for entities in the region like Citadele in 2022 and Luminor in 2020.

Simon Boughey

Asset-Backed Finance

Chenavari eyes new evergreen ABF fund

Preparing for early 2026 launch, strategy incorporates SRT transactions

Chenavari Investment Managers is eyeing the launch of a new evergreen asset-backed finance fund. Called Chenavari European Debt Opportunities Fund, it is set to launch in early 2026, with the firm seeking to raise €500m in its first year.

The vehicle will incorporate a mix of asset-backed loans, forward flow agreements and non-bank lending exposures, while also including a portion of SRT investments, a segment the firm has been investing in since 2011.

Earlier this year, the €5.9bn manager closed its first separately managed account dedicated exclusively to SRTs, raising €300m.

The new fund will primarily invest in SRT deals from Western European banks.

Other ABF investments are managed through the firm's closed-ended strategies, including its speciality finance series, which invests in senior asset-backed loans secured by real assets, trade finance and bank loan portfolio acquisitions.

In November 2024, the firm, alongside L'Oréal Groupe, launched a new impact credit strategy, Solstice. L'Oréal committed €50m to the fund, which is designed to finance industrial decarbonisation projects, providing asset-backed lending and sustainability-linked private loans.

Chenavari was founded in 2008 and is overseen by managing partner, ceo and co-cio, Loic Fery. The firm declined to comment on the new fund launch.

Jacob Chilvers

Asset-Backed Finance

ABF Deal Digest: Shentel launches inaugural fibre network ABS

A weekly roundup of private asset-backed financing activity

Editor's note: updated on 25/11/25 to name one of the lenders in the ASOS refinancing.

This week’s roundup of ABF activity sees Shenandoah Telecommunications Company debut a secured fibre network revenue term notes offering, with an anticipated repayment date in December 2030. Elsewhere, ASOS has refinanced its asset-backed loan facility, while PayPal and KKR have renewed and expanded their European BNPL funding agreement. 

Shentel’s inaugural fibre network securitisation comprises US$567.4m of notes backed by revenue from its broadband assets, dark fibre leases and customer contracts primarily across the states of Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The transaction, issued through a bankruptcy-remote subsidiary, refinances existing term loans and establishes a new capital markets funding channel for the telecoms operator. The deal marks Shentel’s entry into the rapidly expanding fibre ABS asset class, where network operators are increasingly tapping the securitisation market to unlock long-dated, asset-backed funding for expansion. 

ASOS refinances ABL facility

ASOS has refinanced its asset-backed loan facility into a £150m secured term loan and £87.5m delayed draw term loan (DDTL) with a new syndicate of private lenders, one of which is understood to be Arini. The refinancing brings materially improved financial terms, including £87.5m additional liquidity headroom, increased financial flexibility over an extended five-year term to November 2030 and a circa £5m like-for-like reduction in annual cash interest costs versus the firm’s previous Bantry Bay facility.  

PayPal expands BNPL agreement

PayPal and KKR have renewed and expanded their European buy now, pay later (BNPL) funding agreement, with KKR committing to purchase up to €65bn of eligible pay-later receivables originated in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK through 2028. The programme includes an up to €6bn replenishing loan commitment and further embeds PayPal’s balance-sheet-light approach to consumer credit in Europe. For KKR, the renewed mandate strengthens its footprint in large-scale ABF across fintech receivables, reflecting rising institutional appetite for private consumer credit as originators shift away from traditional ABS channels. 

Claudia Lewis, Jacob Chilvers

Asset-Backed Finance

Cutting through the complexity

Thomas Picton, partner at Paul Hastings, answers SCI's questions on the evolution of the ABF market

Q: You joined Paul Hastings earlier this month, at a time of expansion in the asset-backed finance market. What drew you to the firm's platform specifically?
A: Paul Hastings is preeminent in CLOs in Europe and in the US, and has been for some time. It's also very strong on the other part of the market – such as ABS and ABF. Paul Severs and Victoria Morton established a very strong practice, and with Brian Maher joining from Weil and the team bulking up in the US with Shawn Kodes and Megan Roberts, it's a strong bench to join. It makes perfect sense for me and is an exciting opportunity, given my focus, with quite a few synergies.

From an advisory perspective in this market, being able to cover all product types - from CLOs through to SRT trades, as well as the more complex public and private securitisations and portfolio acquisitions - and having that all in one place on both sides of the Atlantic is a really compelling proposition for clients.

Q: How do you see your role shaping up going forward?
A: There has been a real growth in ABF. I'm looking forward to driving that part of the practice. I've historically acted for all players in the ABF ecosystem, from banks, speciality lenders and fintechs through to funds providing the investment.

There are some really strong synergies with what Brian does as well. A lot of our clients don't necessarily compartmentalise themselves in the same way that law firms do. The CLO team in a fund, for example, may sit right next door to the guys executing asset-based trades, who may also be doing SRT trades as well.

I'm also looking to build on the ABS side. It’s been a strong public market for ABS. There are lots of new issuers coming to market, driving innovation in the mortgage space in the UK, for example, and a lot of new and interesting asset classes coming out. I'm looking to build on the good work the team has done and grow the practice across public markets.

Q: ABF has evolved fairly rapidly over the past decade. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts in how issuers and investors are approaching the market today? Where do you see the next areas of opportunity?
A: There are quite a lot of private credit funds that have built specific funds to target this area. One thing that's been interesting in Europe, and particularly the UK, is non-bank lenders and fintechs - especially in the consumer credit and SME space - going to asset-backed structures much earlier in their lifecycle than they would historically. Whereas non-bank lenders may historically have done more of a corporate facility to build track record and originations, we're now seeing them build relationships with funds and go into some form of forward flow or securitised warehouse, as a result of that liquidity being available on the fund side.

The whole joint venture mechanic between banks and private credit is interesting. I think we will increasingly see those types of join-ups to focus on areas of the market.

One such area is securitisation of fund finance assets (such as sub-lines), which has been quite notable in the last 12-18 months. There have been deals done now securitising fund finance products in the UK and the US.

You've seen banks and funds team up to do senior lending as well. Those relationships where the bank can supply capital to support funds and what they are trying to do in the ABF space is going to continue to be a theme.

With so much dry powder ready to deploy in this area, there are more interesting, esoteric-type deals being done. We've done a lot of work in terms of securitising EV subscription products and also quite a lot of innovative equipment leasing and asset finance deals.

The regulatory environment is also interesting to watch. We keep on saying it, but hopefully there's becoming recognition of the value of securitisation, particularly in Europe, in terms of unlocking capital.

Q: Your client base spans banks, speciality lenders, credit funds and private equity. How are these different players adapting their financing strategies in a higher-rate, capital-constrained environment?
A: Synthetic securitisation or credit-linked note-type programmes to remove risk from the balance sheet of large financial institutions has certainly ramped up. You've also seen quite a lot of portfolio disposals in the UK. Some of those just see the portfolio being acquired, some go straight into securitisations, but both with a view of the big banks shrinking balance sheets.

You've also seen a lot of challenger banks in the UK, for example, adapt their securitisation transactions. They're still cash deals, but are done in a way that they can get accounting and regulatory derecognition, whereby they basically sell the whole capital stack plus the equity, packaging up the equity in tradable residual certificates.

Shawbrook, for example, has done a few of those deals. Other challengers like Hampshire Trust have looked to set up deals in the same way.

So that's been a real push, even on the challenger bank side. On the legal side, it's often one of the first questions you get asked: if I want to get this deal off balance sheet, how would my structure change going forward?

Q: With your experience advising on European and global deals, how do you expect cross-border dynamics to influence the next wave of ABF transactions? 
A: One thing that's interesting is often seeing structures, products and themes start in the US and then follow into the UK and Europe. One difference in our space as compared to direct lending is that you can't always take a US structure and stick it in a European jurisdiction. There's always a local law overlay. Being able to work with our US colleagues and explain to clients, "This is how you did it in the US, but this is the tweak to the structure that you'll need to make in the UK or France or Germany; this is the mechanism to get you to the same place economically," is a real strength of having the US and the UK joined up.

Q: What skills do you think will define the next generation of lawyers and advisors in structured finance?
A: Most of my career has been post-2008, so I've experienced securitisation as quite a highly regulated product, whether that is fair or not. There are a lot of requirements to comply with, like risk retention, transparency and due diligence.

The advisors and lawyers that thrive in this space have the ability to cut through some of that, particularly with new issuers. You have a kick-off meeting and can see heads start to go down when you talk about the things they need to do to comply with regulation. If you can cut through that and say, "actually, this is manageable," or "this point has come up, but actually taking a step back, there are ways through it," you’ll see the most success. Being able to navigate that and take a reasonable view on risk is a real plus for advisors.

These transactions can get complex. Having advisors that can cut through some of that complexity to focus on the main risks and present those in a way that clients understand is important to differentiate yourself in this space. In summary: strong technicals combined with a commercial approach and a real understanding of the regulatory risk in this space is key.

Marina Torres

ABS

Inside EDW UK's strategy: bringing transparency to private credit

Nigel Batley, executive director of EDW UK, answers SCI's questions

Q: You were named executive director of European DataWarehouse UK in September, taking over from Markus Schaber. What made this the right time - and the right role - for you?
A: Honestly, I was sceptical at first - because if you think about the origins of a securitisation repository, they only exist because regulation forced them into existence. So, in the market, it’s always felt like something coincidental to the transaction – not core to it.

But then I spoke to Markus Schaber (executive director of EDW at the time) and Christian Thun (ceo of EDW) and within 20 minutes, I could see they had a very different vision. The perception is that a repository is just a big, static database that sits quietly in the background in case someone needs it. But what I saw – and what’s really materialised – is a tech-driven business with a focus on using that data to improve how the market operates.

We’ve now got over five billion lines of data and the focus is on making that not just available, but usable – building tools that actively support transparency, execution and efficiency.

Q: How different is that from your previous role at HSBC?
A: It’s a big shift – and a refreshing one. I left HSBC in 2021, where I was global head of structured finance. It was a decent-sized business: £45bn of assets under management, generating around US$500m in revenue annually, and a team of around 100 people.

When you lend clients that much, it comes with a lot of internal scrutiny. So, my day-to-day was dominated by internal audit, compliance, risk committees – all the controls you'd expect. It meant the teams under me were running the deals and I was managing the oversight.

Now I’m back at the coalface – meeting clients, talking transactions, solving problems. That kind of direct interaction is what I’ve always enjoyed most. You get into these roles because you're good at doing the thing – but then you stop doing it. So, for me, this feels like a return to something much more rewarding.

Q: You’ve mentioned EDW feels more like a tech business than a traditional data repository. What do you mean by that?
A: The repository function is absolutely there – but what excited me is how EDW is developing tools that make that data useful in practice.

Take DealDox, for example – it’s our soon-to-launch virtual data room specifically designed for structured finance. So instead of using a generic VDR and then uploading everything separately into EDITR, you can do the entire workflow in one place. You press a button and all the necessary documents are transmitted straight into the securitisation repository in a compliant format.

We’re now building in features like live document collaboration, access controls, version tracking – all the things you’d expect from a modern data room, but with that structured finance lens. For private issuers especially, that’s going to be transformative.

Q: What kind of issuers or platforms do you see EDW UK best supporting?
A: I think there’s a real opportunity to support the non-bank and mid-sized NBFI sector – particularly those operating in non-conforming, buy-to-let or specialist areas.

I'm still involved in consulting alongside EDW UK and I get a lot of calls from law firms, which don’t necessarily want to guide clients through a four-day securitisation. There’s value in a solution that’s simple, cost-effective and does what it says on the tin.

For example, I’ve worked with lenders offering consolidation loans – which I see as ESG businesses. They help customers restructure debt, repair credit over two to three years and move on. That has real social value, but those firms often struggle with the operational lift of securitisation. We can genuinely make their lives easier.

We’re also encouraging people to think of EDW as part of their business continuity planning. If you’ve got all your portfolio data securely stored with us, that’s an additional layer of comfort. In a world where systems failures can happen with one hack, it’s a big plus.

Q: How do newer players – particularly in private credit – respond to working with a repository like EDW?
A: There’ll always be individuals who’d rather not do the uploading – that’s human nature. But as firms, most of these private credit funds are Article 17 investors. They already use our data – either directly from the EDW site or via Bloomberg.

The point is: when something goes wrong – which, thankfully, is rare – the value of having loan-level data available becomes obvious. Just like a true sale opinion, you hope you’ll never need it - but when you do, it’s invaluable.

If you're the unlucky investor in one of those rare deals that deteriorates, you’ll be very glad to have access to clean, structured data in a central place, rather than trying to chase it from an originator that may be in trouble.

Q: Is that value of transparency better understood in Europe than in the US?
A: I think so, yes. In the US, there are repositories under Rule 17g-5, but my experience – and I saw this at HSBC – was that no one really accessed them. We uploaded everything, but it just sat there.

Whereas in Europe and the UK, we know users are accessing and analysing the data regularly. It’s being pulled into models, reviewed by investors and used to drive decisions. It’s a completely different level of engagement.

Q: Are fraud and data risks changing how investors engage with that transparency?
A: Without question. I’ve spoken with banks that are now overlaying AI tools on their portfolio data to try and identify fraud patterns. But of course, you can’t do that unless the data’s there – and standardised.

As those technologies develop, I think platforms like EDW will play a bigger role. You need a solid foundation of accessible, high-quality data to make those tools work.

Q: We’ve seen discussion around potential reclassification of private transactions as public under UK and EU regulation. How would that impact EDW?
A: If private deals were reclassified as public, and required to use a repository, that would be a significant change – and we’d be there to support that transition.

We’d want to make that shift as painless as possible for everyone involved. I don’t think the right approach is to say, “Come to us, we’ll solve everything.” The smarter route is to work with existing service providers – whether that’s TMF, Wilmington Trust or others – and build partnerships that make the transition smooth and scalable.

We’re here to support the regulations, whatever form they take – and do it thoughtfully.

Q: And what’s your broader strategy for EDW UK in the coming year?
A: What sold me on EDW is the commitment to continuous improvement – to actually building new products that evolve with the market.

DealDox is a great example of that. Historically, we’ve done really well on public prime transactions. But we’ve had less penetration in areas like non-conforming and buy-to-let, where I think there’s real scope to grow.

We want to move from being a compliance box-tick to being a service provider of choice – one that makes life easier, offers value and gives people confidence in their data processes. That’s the direction we’re heading in.

Claudia Lewis

Structured Finance

Job swaps weekly: Amundi and ICG ink long-term partnership

People moves and key promotions in securitisation

This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Amundi and ICG launch a long-term partnership that will see the former acquire a minority stake in the latter. Elsewhere, a former Emso Asset Management portfolio manager is to launch a new ABF fund, while Norton Rose Fulbright has hired a new partner in its Amsterdam office.

Amundi and ICG have announced a long-term strategic partnership comprising several components, including a 10-year agreement under which Amundi will be the exclusive global distributor in the wealth channel for ICG’s evergreen and certain other products, with ICG being Amundi’s exclusive provider for those products to Amundi’s distribution business. The agreement also provides for joint development of new products specifically targeted at wealth investors.

Under the agreement, Amundi will acquire a 9.9% economic stake in ICG, becoming a strategic shareholder in a manner that is non-dilutive to existing ICG’s shareholders and anchoring the long-term partnership. The partnership allows Amundi to benefit from ICG’s investment expertise and performance track record to accelerate its distribution of private assets, while ICG will benefit from Amundi’s international distribution capacity and its structuring capability in designing investment solutions for wealth clients.

ICG manages almost US$125bn of assets on behalf of predominantly institutional clients through various strategies across structured capital, private equity secondaries, private debt, credit and real assets. Amundi currently has €70bn in assets under management in its private markets platform, which has been primarily built around real estate and multi-management activities, strengthened in 2024 by the acquisition of Alpha Associates.

Meanwhile, former Emso Asset Management veteran Marco Lukesch is launching a new asset-backed finance fund, as SCI reported earlier this week. The new venture – which has yet to be named – will be managed from London, with Lukesch utilising IQ-EQ's platform for its launch. Lukesch left Emso in March after eight years as portfolio manager and head of private credit. He previously spent five years at fixed income specialist Pine River Capital Management and eight at HBK Capital Management.

Norton Rose Fulbright has appointed Peter Voorhees as a partner in its Amsterdam office, further strengthening its international capital markets capabilities. He joins the firm from Simmons & Simmons, where he led the Amsterdam capital markets practice.

A US-qualified international capital markets lawyer, Voorhees brings extensive experience advising investment banking, governmental and corporate clients on complex, multi-jurisdictional debt and equity transactions. His practice spans medium-term note, commercial paper and structured finance programmes, bond issuances, liability management transactions and equity-related offerings. He is also a prominent figure in ESG finance, having advised leading issuers of green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds across the Dutch market.

Karen Butler has joined McDermott Will & Schulte as a partner in London. Butler was previously a partner at DLA Piper, which she joined in September 2022, having previously worked at Reed Smith, King & Wood Mallesons, Linklaters and Clifford Chance. She advises on law and regulations applicable to financial services firms, including securitisation rules and ESG disclosure.

Alvarez & Marsal has appointed Lewis Tse as md to lead its newly expanded ABF service line. Tse, who brings more than 15 years of structured credit valuation and advisory experience to the new role, will support asset managers, private credit funds, insurers and banks as A&M responds to growing demand for specialist ABF expertise. He joins A&M in New York from Lincoln International where he co-led the firm’s ABF group. Prior to this, he held senior roles in the structured finance teams at Houlihan Lokey and Red Pine Advisors. Tse’s appointment forms part of the firm’s broader push into data driven private credit solutions within its global valuation services practice.

Sui Foundation has appointed blockchain and capital markets veteran Renée Berman as strategic advisor in New York. Berman brings decades of experience at major financial services firms – most recently serving as md at Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) leading digital asset securities risk and control frameworks. She previously directed strategy at fintech Broadbridge in the capital markets division and Credit Suisse. In her new role on Sui’s advisory broad, Berman will support the firm’s efforts to boost the institutional adoption of on-chain infrastructure, guide product strategy and build relationships as the organisation expands its capital markets footprint.

And finally, Hayfin is promoting two senior members of its team as part of its long-term succession plans. Gina Germano has been promoted from portfolio manager and head of European high yield and syndicated loans to global chair of high yield and syndicated loans, while Jason Late has been promoted from co-portfolio manager and head of research to head of European high yield and syndicated loans.

Germano has been with the firm for 10 years, having previously held senior roles at BlueBay Asset Management and Goldbridge Capital Partners, which she cofounded. Since joining Hayfin, she has also founded the firm’s Global Women’s Initiative, with the goal of promoting the advancement and retention of women across the industry.

Meanwhile, Late only joined the firm in June of this year, leaving his position as portfolio manager at Man Group after two and a half years. He previously held md or director positions at Ares Management, Deutsche Bank, Nomura International and Brookfield Investment Management.

Corinne Smith, Jacob Chilvers, Claudia Lewis, Kenny Wastell

Asset-Backed Finance

Former Emso credit head begins fundraising

Marco Lukesch is working with IQ-EQ on a multi-currency credit strategy

Former Emso Asset Management veteran Marco Lukesch is launching a new asset-backed finance fund. Lukesch, who left Emso in March after eight years as portfolio manager and head of private credit, is actively seeking investors for the new multi-currency private credit fund.

The new venture - which has yet to be named - will be managed from London, with Lukesch utilising IQ-EQ's platform for its launch. It will run a strategy similar to Emso's private debt funds, which primarily focus on asset-backed finance in emerging markets, including India, Latin America and the CEEMEA region, sources tell SCI.

During his time with Emso, Lukesch oversaw the firm's emerging markets credit strategy. Following his exit, investment team members Daniel Sensel and Ryan Millikan have taken over Lukesch's duties.

Before Emso, Lukesch spent five years at fixed income specialist Pine River Capital Management and an eight-year stint at HBK Capital Management.

Emso was founded in 2000 by former Salomon Brothers pro Mark Franklin. The firm has over 50 people working across London and the US.

In February last year, the firm was acquired by global macro hedge fund firm Kirkoswald Capital Partners. However, it continues to operate as an independent entity.

Lukesch did not respond for comment.

Jacob Chilvers