Banif, one of Portugal's largest banks, is readying its first residential mortgage-backed securitization, according to London-based bankers. The deal, which should be about E500 million, will come to market in the coming weeks and is being lead-managed by Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank.
Marketing for the deal will begin this week, say bankers who add that it should be priced shortly thereafter. Market participants expect the deal to go smoothly as it is coming to market so early in the year and investors have a lot of new money to put to work. While this deal is Banif's first RMBS, it has been using securitization for some time for consumer loans and leasing contracts. Syndicate officials at CSFB and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Virgilio Mendes, director of the financial division at Banif in Lisbon, could not be reached for comment.
There have been several RMBS deals from Portugal, the first being the E1 billion Magellan deal from Banco Comercial Portugues, which was priced in 2001. Since then, other Portuguese issuers have tapped the market, the most recent being an E650 million deal from Caixa Economica Montepio Geral.