Capital Relief Trades

Capital relief trades are deals put together by banks to sell on to investors to reduce the bank's regulatory capital requirements.
Such deals can take many forms, but SCI focuses on those where synthetic or securitisation structures are utilised. Those deals can be broken down into the following broad categories (deals can be combinations of these categories): CDS - credit default swaps: in the capital relief trade context, this denotes deals that utilise such instruments to transfer credit risk. CLN - credit-linked note: in the capital relief trade context, this denotes the deal is structured as a note with an embedded credit derivative. Fin gtee - Financial guarantee: a means of structuring a capital relief trade, whereby the investors benefit from a guarantee that all the issuer's obligations will be met. Funded: where a capital relief trade is understood to have been structured using a credit derivative (CDS, CLN, synthetic CDO etc) with the protection seller making an initial payment. Unfunded: where a capital relief trade is understood to have been structured without an initial payment being made under the credit derivative (CDS, CLN, synthetic CDO etc). True sale: a capital relief trade based on a cash securitisation structure rather than a synthetic securitisation structure.


  • SRT disclosures reviewed (UPDATED)

    Pillar 3 survey underlines Santander's dominance

    News 28 March 2025

  • Risk mitigation

    Regional banks advised to build investor confidence in CRT deals

    News 28 March 2025

  • Insurer appetite for SRTs on the rise

    IACPM survey shows substantial growth of unfunded protection

    Insurer provision of unfunded protection on tranches of SRT transactions has increased significantly year-on-year. The number of protections sold rose to 82 new subscriptions in 2024, versus 45 the previous year, according to the IACPM’s latest Global SRT Insurance Survey.

    Respondents insured €2.8bn of European SRT transactions last year, compared to €1.2bn in 2023. The average insured amount .......

    News 27 March 2025

  • SCI In Conversation Podcast: Jason Smilovitz and Midroog's Moty Citrin (part 2)

    We discuss the hottest topics in securitisation today...

    In the second part of this episode of the SCI In Conversation podcast, SCI’s Selvaggia Cataldi continues her discussion about Israel’s securitisation market with Moty Citrin, head of financial institutions and structured finance at Moody’s subsidiary Midroog, and independent senior securitisation consultant Jason Smilovitz.

    Citrin and Smilovitz discuss the impact of the country's recent legislative changes, investor sentiment, market liquidity, .......

    News Analysis 27 March 2025

  • Job swaps weekly: Gandy returns to the SRT fold

    People moves and key promotions in securitisation

    This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees SRT veteran Steve Gandy return to the industry as a board member at an SRT-focused fintech business. Elsewhere, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has appointed a New-York-based securitisation-focused partner, while Trafigura Group has named a new global head of structured finance.

    Iconicchain, a Finnish fintech specialising in SRT services for issuers, .......

    Market Moves 21 March 2025

  • SCI In Conversation Podcast: Moty Citrin, Midroog, and Jason Smilovitz, independent consultant

    We discuss the hottest topics in securitisation today...

    In this episode of the SCI In Conversation podcast, SCI’s Selvaggia Cataldi speaks to Moty Citrin, head of financial institutions and structured finance at Moody’s subsidiary Midroog, and independent senior securitisation consultant Jason Smilovitz about the evolution of Israel’s securitisation market. In light of a new law aligning the country with global standards, Citrin and Smilovitz discuss how the legislative .......

    News Analysis 21 March 2025

  • New auto loan deal for Huntington

    Midwest lender comes back to reg cap market after 2024 debut

    News 19 March 2025

  • Unfunded crossover

    SRT market update

    SRT Market Update 18 March 2025

  • Accelerating synthetics simplification and standardisation

    Mayer Brown lawyers outline the key points and eligibility c...

    Following the start of development work on an accelerated procedure for the regulatory recognition of significant risk transfer (SRT) securitisations last year, the ECB last month published guidance addressed to significant institutions1 (SIs or SI) for certain simpler and more standardised traditional and synthetic securitisations. The new SRT Fast-Track process is currently being tested by the ECB .......

    Talking Point 17 March 2025

  • Deep dive

    Basel Committee launches SRT investigation

    In a press release published yesterday, the Basil Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) announced its intention to launch an investigation assessing the benefits and risks posed by SRTs.

    As part of its ongoing work to assess banks' interconnections with non-bank financial intermediation, BCBS agreed to conduct over the coming year a deep-dive investigation on SRTs.

    Commenting on .......

    News 14 March 2025

  • Latest SRTx fixings released

    Slight retreat from last month's widening

    As the prospect of a barrage of trade tariffs increases significantly, policy rates are very likely to remain restrictive. In fact, such macro-political environment strongly supports the view of policy rates staying higher versus pre-pandemic levels. In this context, the illiquidity premium found and associated with private credit means buy-and-hold SRT investors can potentially find additional return opportunities.

    News 13 March 2025


  • EIB inks SRT with Czech lender

    SRT to support Czech SMEs and mid-caps

    The EIB Group has completed a new synthetic securitisation with Czech bank Ceska Sporitelna (CSAS).

    Under the transaction, the EIF will provide a €55m unfunded guarantee in a mezzanine tranche with the objective of enabling CSAS to expand to expand lending to SMEs and mid-caps in the Czech Republic. The junior and senior tranches are retained by CSAS. The .......

    SRT Market Update 12 March 2025

  • Leverage and liquidity

    NAV financing benefiting from spread compression

    News Analysis 11 March 2025

  • SEC-OCRA: simplifying the prudential framework

    New approach aims to address supervisory formula distortions

    A new paper presents a methodology for simplifying the prudential framework for synthetic securitisations while maintaining the current level of required capital and ensuring a consistent level of non-neutrality, regardless of transaction structure. By proposing the SEC-Overall Capital Requirement Approach (SEC-OCRA), the paper introduces a simplified and risk-sensitive framework tailored for synthetic securitisations.

    The authors of the .......

    Talking Point 3 March 2025

  • Job swaps weekly: Santander rings changes in structured finance division

    People moves and key promotions in securitisation

    This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Santander making a number of appointments as part of a major reshuffle of its structured finance advisory and lending platform. Elsewhere, DLA Piper has appointed a new co-head of its structured finance practice, while Piper Sandler has snapped up a new md and co-head of its structured finance group.

    Santander has reorganised its structured .......

    Market Moves 28 February 2025

  • EIB inks Spanish resi deal

    Green and sustainable mortgages targeted

    The EIB Group has signed a new synthetic securitisation operation with Santander to provide financing for energy efficiency investments in the Spanish real estate sector, including the construction of new near zero-emission buildings and the renovation of existing residential properties to meet sustainability standards. The investment is being executed in a single securitisation, optimally structured to provide Santander with .......

    News 28 February 2025

  • Spread equipoise

    No further compression foreseen in record Q1

    SRT Market Update 27 February 2025

  • BPER surfaces

    SME loan deal now in the market

    News 27 February 2025

  • US CRT: Brave new world - video

    Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft partner Jed Miller speaks to SCI

    .......

    News Analysis 26 February 2025

  • Down in the tranches

    US Bank prepares to close multi-tranche SRT

    News 26 February 2025

  • SCI in Focus: Broader and deeper

    SRT supply and demand dynamics set to stabilise

    A recurring theme within the SRT market last year was its characterisation as ‘bank-friendly’, with a deluge of new capital altering supply and demand dynamics. While issuance volumes continue to grow, the sector is also gaining depth due to increasing standardisation.

    “The last year has been characterised by new or newer entrants ramping up. Some, particularly US .......

    News Analysis 25 February 2025


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