The EIB Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), has supported a Raiffeisen-Leasing securitisation transaction of EUR 440m.
EIB invested EUR 150m and ING Germany EUR 250m in the senior notes. The tranche by ING Germany is covered by an EIF guarantee. Raiffeisen-Leasing subscribed to the mezzanine tranche of around EUR 40m. The transaction was structured, arranged and placed by Raiffeisen Bank International AG as the sole arranger.
This is the first public ABS transaction in which the EIB Group has participated in Austria. It will contribute to further opening up the securitisation market for financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
“We are very pleased that we will be able to offer our SME customers leasing contracts on particularly attractive terms over the next few years”, stated Raiffeisen-Leasing’s CEO Alexander Schmidecker.
Ambroise Fayolle, the EIB Vice-President responsible for lending in Austria, said, “Improving access of small and medium-sized businesses to affordable finance is one of the priorities of the EU bank. This includes making greater use of the securitisation market in Europe.”
This securitisation transaction complements EIB’s direct lending to the Austrian financial sector and enables higher financing volumes and the transfer of a bigger financial advantage to SMEs and mid-caps (firms with up to 3 000 employees) than would be possible with direct loans only.
EIF Chief Executive Pier Luigi Gilibert commented. “I am pleased that EIF’s involvement could act as a catalyst for the participation of private investors in the transaction.”
Raiffeisen Leasing Group provides vehicle, equipment, aircraft, and real estate leasing in Austria and CEE.
[No transaction information was provided to show what the securitised assets were, however there are assumed to be leases on vehicle, equipment, aircraft, and/or real estate]