Sector developments and company hires

Pan-European guarantee fund launched
The EIB board has approved a €25bn Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF) - which will be funded by EU member states pro rata to their shareholding in the bank – as part of its overall response to the Covid-19 crisis. By guaranteeing parts of portfolios, operations under the guarantee fund will free up capital for financial intermediaries to make more financing available for SMEs and mid-caps, providing up to €200bn of additional financing. By pooling credit risk across the entire EU, the overall average cost of the fund will be significantly reduced compared to national schemes. The use of the EIB also means that all member states will benefit from sharing the bank’s top credit rating. Additionally, the EIB is implementing the emergency measures announced in March to repurpose existing guarantees (SCI 18 March).

In other news…

Advancing mechanism implemented
The Fanes Series 2018 Italian RMBS issuer has announced that in order to address the Covid-19 emergency, Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano - in its capacity as servicer and originator on the deal - intends to grant borrowers payment holidays in relation to an outstanding principal exceeding 5% of the collateral portfolio outstanding principal at the date of the relevant suspension. Payment holidays can be granted from 9 March until 31 December 2020 and could last for a period which cannot exceed 18 months. As such, CR Bolzano has implemented a mechanism to advance the Covid suspension's installments, which aims to protect noteholder interests.

North America
Greystone has appointed Philip Miller as an md in a newly created role, which focuses on developing proptech strategies across the firm’s lending platforms. Miller joins Greystone from MUFG, where he was head of CMBS. Based in New York, he will report to Greystone’s chief technology officer Jonathan Russell.

Owl Rock Capital has hired Jesse Huff, who will serve as co-head of the firm’s opportunistic investing strategy, together with Owl Rock md Nicole Drapkin. Huff was most recently an md and member of Oaktree Capital Management’s strategic credit platform, where he had been focusing on opportunistic credit since 2014. Prior to Oaktree, he was the global head of distressed debt trading and sourcing at The Carlyle Group and held a variety of positions across the risk arbitrage and financials and special situations divisions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Drapkin will take on this new role after helping to build Owl Rock since its inception nearly five years ago. Prior to Owl Rock, she was a principal in the principal credit investments group at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and also worked at Goldman Sachs.

NPL fund closed
Investcorp has announced the fully subscribed final closing of approximately €340m in commitments for its second vintage Italian Distressed Loan Fund II, which is exclusively advised by Eidos Partners. The fund invests in non‐performing loans secured by residential and commercial real estate in Italy. To date, more than €460m in assets have been allocated towards Investcorp and Eidos Partners’ Italian NPLs strategy. 

TALF ratings expanded
The New York Fed has updated its TALF FAQ document to include securities rated by DBRS Morningstar and KBRA, to the extent that they also have a qualifying rating from one of the ‘big three’ rating agencies. Specifically, eligible securities must have the highest rating from two eligible NRSROs. One of the two ratings must be from Fitch, Moody’s or S&P, while the other may be from DBRS Morningstar or KBRA.