The European secondary asset-backed market has been "subdued" as investors and dealers alike have been inundated by new issuance, say London-based ABS traders. One investor says he has been looking at every new ABS deal that comes across his desk--roughly E6 billion worth over the past three weeks--and has not been able to look at secondary market trades. "There are some secondary positions that look interesting, but our resources are really stretched right now. I'll look at them later," he says.
Traders expect secondary volumes to remain "soft" through December and estimate there is an additional E5 billion of new issuance to be priced by New Year's Eve. Despite the attention being paid to the primary market, one trader notes the residential mortgage-backed market remains relatively well bid. Still, RMBS spreads have widened a touch in the past two weeks by 2-4 basis points.