The board of directors of the European Securitisation Forum (ESF), an affiliate of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, has elected its new leadership for 2008 and 2009. Cecilia Tarrant, managing director and European head of agency CMBS and consumer securitisation at Morgan Stanley International Ltd, was elected chair of the ESF for 2008 and Mark Hickey, managing director and head of financial institution debt capital markets at Royal Bank of Scotland, as vice-chair for 2008, and chair for 2009.
“We are very pleased to have Cecilia and Mark’s leadership at this critical time in the securitisation industry,” says Rick Watson, managing director of the ESF. “The ESF is involved with a wide variety of initiatives to try to restore confidence in the European securitisation markets as well as dialogues in many advocacy related areas. They not only bring an extensive experience in a wide variety of securitisation markets, including different product types across different countries, but they also each have a widespread network of experience with major investors which will be essential in restoring investor confidence.”
“I am very pleased to be involved with the ESF at this extremely challenging time for the securitisation industry,” says Tarrant. “As a forum that represents all participants in the securitisation market, the ESF has a key role to play in building consensus among market participants and liaising with regulators and policymakers to help restore confidence in the capital markets.”
“Securitisation is a core part of the global financial system and has clear benefits for consumers, businesses and banks,” says Hickey. “I look forward to working with the ESF to address the current issues in securitisation markets, which have implications for the cost and availability of financing for households and companies around the world.”