ABN AMRO is marketing its first structured credit product in Asia out of its newly minted private investor products group and officials predict there will be a flurry of new instruments. "I'm convinced on the potential for such products for private investors--the amount of money going into structured instruments is growing everywhere," said Paul Thind, executive director in structured credit product marketing in the financial markets group in Zurich.
The Dutch bank is marketing a capital guaranteed structured credit product to retail clients worldwide, but it is also looking to structure local currency products in the coming months in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan dollars. "With interest rates so low in Asia, structured products are a great alternative to deposits," said Thind. He continued that CDOs are the next step after straightforward credit structures gain a footing in the region. Heading south, ABN is also planning to complete its second retail CDO in Australia this year, noted Thind.
The instrument being marketed at the moment, dubbed the Dynamic Portfolio Note, is an eight-year structure referenced to 280 credit-default swaps many of which are pulled from the U.S. and European iTraxx indexes. The bank is targeting a commitment of at least USD200 million and will close next month after a global road show.
The private investor products group was set up last year to concentrate on structured foreign exchange and fixed income-linked products for retail clients. At the start of this year it established a presence in Asia, spearheaded by Timothy Tsang, Asian head of private investor product distribution in Hong Kong, who has subsequently built a team in the region.
