Dublin-based EBS Building Society is preparing a residential mortgage-backed securitization called Emerald Mortgages No. 3. The timing of the deal and its size have not yet been determined, says Jackie Gilroy, head of treasury at ESB. She says the building society has appointed Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse First Boston as joint lead managers. Irish mortgage lenders do not issue as frequently as they once did, because many can fund themselves through the covered bond market.
London based bankers believe Emerald Mortgages will be between E500 million and E700 million and will come to market next month. Last year, there were no Irish RMBS deals in the market and this is the first of 2003, and accordingly, analysts expect any Irish deals to be snapped up by investors as a diversification play. Gilroy declined to say if EBS would bring another deal this year.
