Holiday season is in full flow it seems for the Another Fine Mezz. Last week, usual host, Tom Lemmon, had been enjoying an early summer break, while this week he stepped into cover for European ABS reporter, George Smith.
This was a week characterised by election excitement, meaning everyone still in the market was looking to be done sooner rather than later. Deals from Cerberus and Ford's German branch followed with no hiccups, but the visible pipeline is now quiet.
In the meantime, on the back of Bank of America Research's report showing that insurance companies' use of European securitization was still pitifully low, there were signs in the UK that insurers are starting to take a closer look once more.
It's a small change, but it is yet another morsel of evidence that suggests the resistance to European securitization is thawing, albeit slowly.
In CLOs, Arini priced yet another successful European CLO to reaffirm a growing reputation, despite its relative infancy, while a number of resets and refinancings got away well too.
CLO reporter Victoria Thiele also released a first half of the year league table article for both the US and Europe. Both markets experienced a better than expected year with tightening and lots of issuance. The question remaining is how much more will come in the second half of the year.
