Euro Investors Eye Up Resi Whole Loans As Regulation And Low Yields Bite

• Published in: Total Securitization
• Main Author: McDevitt, Joe
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC 03.02.2014
• Subjects: Asset management; Balance sheets; Capital requirements; Commercial real estate; Corporate debt; Infrastructure; Institutional investments; Insurance companies; Investors; Joint ventures; Loans; Mortgage backed securities; Mortgages; Pension funds; Portfolio management; Private equity; Rajendra, Ganesh; Securitization; Small & medium sized enterprises-SME; Netherlands
• ISSN: 1938-7504

Institutional investors are turning their attention to residential mortgage portfolios on the core part of banks' balance sheets, say European investors. Higher yields and regulatory incentives for the buyers are aligning with pressure on banks to meet more stringent capital requirements, giving whole loan mortgage sales an unprecedented appeal. "We are starting to see more active discussions as banks show a willingness to sell residential mortgage portfolios," said one institutional investor, "but there has not yet been a public transaction to speak about". The group of European institutional investors looking at opportunities in this space include French insurance companies and pension funds in northern Europe, according to investors. Some insurance companies in the Netherlands have been involved in the residential mortgage market for some time. Aegon has a well established mortgage lending platform, while Achmea also lends directly, including through its asset management arm Syntrus Achmea.