Sector developments and company hires

Raiffeisen inks Romanian trade
Raiffeisen Bank has partnered with the EIB Group to strengthen its financing capacity in Romania through a synthetic securitisation. The transaction enables Raiffeisen to provide up to RON523m of new financing to eligible SMEs and MidCaps over the next two years, with a reduced interest rate compared to other similar financing.

The securitisation references a RON1.52bn portfolio of non-retail loans and comprises senior, mezzanine and junior tranches. Under the transaction, the credit risk of the mezzanine tranche is assumed by the EIF. The transaction features a three-year replenishment period, during which amortised exposures in the securitised portfolio can be replaced with new eligible exposures.

At the consolidated prudential level of Raiffeisen Bank, the transaction is expected to have an initial positive impact of approximately 40bp on the CET1 ratio and 80bp on the MREL ratio.

Separately, further details have emerged regarding UniCredit’s recent Italian consumer ABS (SCI 25 November 2022). The senior and mezzanine tranches of the notes were purchased by the EIB (for a total of €700m) and by the EIF (for an additional €50m).

In other news…

APAC
Mayer Brown has launched a joint law venture (JLV) with Singapore law firm PK Wong & Nair, marking the first JLV established in the jurisdiction since November 2016. Known as Mayer Brown PK Wong & Nair, the JLV is led by Mark Wong, co-md of PK Wong & Nair and a partner at Mayer Brown, along with Yu Jin Tay, Mayer Brown’s Singapore office managing partner. The JLV currently has over 30 lawyers, including 17 partners, with plans to double headcount over the next two years. 

North America
Octagon Credit Investors has promoted Joseph DiCecilia to principal, CLO trading, based in New York. He was previously vp at the firm, which he joined in September 2021. Before that, DiCecilia was a vp, CLO trading at JPMorgan.