Ciao SMEs: BPVi taps into ABS financing

Market players have beaten policymakers to the punch over using securitization to increase lending to smaller European companies, writes Joe McDevitt. Even with the optimal form of public support still in debate and the impact of Basel III and Solvency II regulations hindering demand, Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVi) is looking to issue Italy’s first public ABS backed by SME loans — a pure true sale transaction with no agency enhancement — since the 2008 financial crisis.