Third quarter European securitization issuance was down sharply from the second quarter and from a year ago amid much weaker liquidity levels. European third quarter securitization issuance totaled €89.5 billion ($130.71 billion) compared to €164.8 billion ($240.66 billion) in the second quarter of 2007 and €113.5 billion ($165.75 billion) in the year ago third quarter period.
The latest quarter’s issuance put outstanding volume of European securitization at €1.32 trillion ($1.93 trillion) most of which is AAA rated. “Almost 80% of outstanding by current rating is AAA, while mezzanine tranches (typically A and BBB-rated securities) represent 10.6%,” said Rick Watson, managing director and head of the European Securitization Forum.