The Bond Market Association and its European Securitisation Forum are establishing a committee on collateralized debt obligations as the asset class gains traction in Europe. The committee is still in the planning stages and the first meeting is likely to be held this summer, according to Manfred Schepers, senior managing director at TBMA in London. Membership and agenda have not been set but the broad goal will be to promote the efficient growth and development of the CDO market in Europe.
"CDOs are a fast-growing and complex asset class, yet there is no clearing house in Europe for issues relating to them," observed Schepers. In 2004, there was €43 billion of cash and synthetic CDO issuance in the European market, according to Moody's Investors Service.
Schepers noted European associations have traditionally not been created around businesses, since individual markets have not been sufficiently well-developed. Six years after the introduction of the euro, however, certain pan-European markets are gaining critical mass and TBMA is intent on establishing relevant industry associations to address them. TBMA helped create the European Primary Dealers Association in November (BW, 11/08) to promote best practices in the Euro government securities market. And the ESF already has committees focusing on the commercial mortgage-backed securitization and covered bond markets (BW, 10/04).