Sector developments and company hires

ESG activation consortium launched
Dexai-Etica Artificiale, Establecimiento Financiero de Crédito, European DataWarehouse (EDW), Hypoport, Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia and Woonnu have launched the ‘Engage for ESG Activation Investments’ (ENGAGE) project, which has received a grant by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) under the EU’s LIFE programme. ENGAGE aims to create a future-proof data and innovative funding framework for energy efficient mortgage and renovation financing, making sustainable energy investments more attractive to private investors and aligning them with the EU’s sustainable finance policy.
Over a three-year period, the ENGAGE team will work on developing a standardised energy efficiency data disclosure template for mortgage loans in line with the most relevant European regulations. The template will be operationalised through the Green Investment Portal.
The ENGAGE framework for energy efficient mortgages and renovations will create transparency through the translation and application of the relevant sections of the EU Taxonomy into the Dutch and Spanish national building and mortgage-lending practices that will ultimately contribute to standardisation of innovative and decarbonisation-targeted capital markets financing transactions.
The project is being coordinated by EDW head of business development and regulatory affairs Marco Angheben.

In other news…

Climate risk financing facility launched
The World Bank Group has unveiled its Global Shield Financing Facility, which aims to help developing countries access more financing for recovery from natural disasters and climate shocks. This facility will support the Global Shield Against Climate Risks, a joint initiative launched at COP27 by the G7 and V20 to better protect poor and vulnerable people from disasters by pre-arranging more financing before disasters strike.

The Global Shield Financing Facility will channel grants to developing countries through World Bank projects or through projects prepared by other participating partners, including UN agencies and multilateral development banks. It will also work closely with key stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, risk pools, private sector and humanitarian partners.

The Global Shield Financing Facility will finance integrated financial protection packages that offer coordinated and consolidated financial support to those vulnerable to climate shocks and disasters. These financial packages will complement investments in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Such packages will also enable and mobilise private capital for improved financial resilience, by offering private financial solutions, including insurance and other risk transfer instruments, such as catastrophe bonds.

The World Bank says it will also provide advisory and financial support to client countries to improve financial protection of poor vulnerable people and to actively contribute to the collective efforts to make the global risk finance architecture more impactful.

EMEA
Eric Huang has joined Barclays as an ABS and MBS trader, based in London. He was previously an ABS, MBS and CLO trader at Societe Generale, and worked at RBS before that.

Starz continues its relationship with StepStone Real Estate as it secures further investment to be used for its CRE debt fund. The pan-European commercial real estate lending platform’s fund, dubbed Starz Zenith Capital, will be used to originate middle market commercial loans valued between €15m and €100m. The funding marks StepStone Real Estate’s second investment with Starz, having previously anchored its Starz European Loan Fund I with an investment of €125m. This latest initial investment from StepStone follows the firm’s anchor investment from Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor, and will allow the fund to originate an additional €250m in loans. The fund offers loans for acquisition and recapitalisation of high quality, value-add commercial real estate assets across the eurozone and the UK, and since its launch in December last year, has succeeded in originating more than €300m in loans.

North America
Jean-Louis Monnier has added ceo of Swiss Re Capital Markets Corporation to his existing responsibilities as head of retro and ILS structuring at Swiss Re. Based in New York, he joined the firm in April 2002, having previously worked at Gen Re Financial Products, CIBC and Societe Generale.

SPG sale inked
Credit Suisse has confirmed that it has entered into definitive transaction agreements to sell a significant part of its securitised products group (SPG) and other related financing businesses to Apollo Global Management (SCI 28 October). This transaction, together with the contemplated sale of other portfolio assets to third-party investors, is expected to reduce SPG assets from US$75bn to approximately US$20bn, through a series of transactions expected to be completed by mid-2023. The approximately US$20bn of remaining assets - which will generate income to support the exit from the SPG business - will be managed by Apollo under an investment management relationship with an expected term of five years, to be entered into at the first closing.
Apollo is expected to hire the majority of the SPG team and will receive customary transitional services from Credit Suisse following the closing of the transaction, in order to maintain a seamless experience for clients. Credit Suisse will also provide financing for a portion of the assets transferred to Apollo.
Completion of these transactions is expected to achieve a release of RWAs of up to approximately US$10bn, depending on the scope of assets ultimately transferred.