Meliorbanca, an Italian mortgage lender, was in the market last week with its debut securitization of residential mortgages. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Société Générale and Meliorbanca are underwriting the E412 million deal, Sestante Finance. The transaction features a revolving structure, which is unusual for Italian RMBS deals. The portfolio revolves for a maximum of 18 months after the closing date, allowing for the substitution of assets. Substitutions are restricted by certain criteria that protect investors against a deterioration of asset quality after the closing date. Officials at Meliorbanca could not be reached for comment and Richard Hopkin, deputy head of securitization at SocGen in London, declined to comment. The majority of the offering consists of two triple-A classes; the A1 notes are floating rate and the A2 bonds are fixed. Price talk on the classes was not available at press time.
Meliorbanca, a relative newcomer to the Italian residential mortgage market, began originating mortgages last summer.
