JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has been appointed by WestLB and the investment bank of JPMorgan as tri-party collateral manager for the first dedicated Asset Backed Securities (ABS) tri-party deal in Europe.
The need for collateral management services has increased as the demand for secured lending has grown. ABS issuance in Europe is growing faster than in the U.S. and the EU Capital Requirements Directive is expected to increase ABS usage as collateral. In addition, a number of other drivers such as Basel II, the recent loss of state guarantees for Germany’s landesbanks and new international financial reporting standards are creating additional demand for collateralisation.
Andy Wise, Director of Credit Repo at WestLB, said, “We are impressed by the pricing capabilities and the commitment to collateral management of JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services and we are pleased to be working with them on the first deal of its kind in the European market.”
Mike Garrett, Head of European Repo Sales at JPMorgan, said, “We selected JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services because of its superior service offering, its experience in working with investment banks such as ourselves and its flexibility in providing services tailored to this groundbreaking deal.”
Kirit Bhatia, Global Head of Product Management for the Securities Collateral Management group at JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services, said, “We are delighted to be working with WestLB and the investment bank of JPMorgan on the first dedicated ABS tri-party deal in Europe. The ABS market is expected to grow by over 40% in Europe this year and we anticipate that this deal will be the first of many as ABS becomes more widely accepted as collateral.”