Volkswagen Bank, the auto maker's European financing arm, plans to securitize its E10 billion German auto loan portfolio for the first time, says Andreas Schuberth, a member of the bank's securitization team in Braunschweig, Germany. Previously, securitizations bearing the Volkswagen moniker have been lease deals through Volkswagen Leasing. Volkswagen Bank aims to build its securitization capabilities and establish a presence in the market to diversify its funding options and gain capital relief, says Schuberth.
The bank tentatively plans to launch its first retail auto loan deal next year, depending on market conditions, its funding and capital relief needs and its back-office systems, says Schuberth. While Volkswagen Bank has a presence in many European markets, it will begin to securitize its German portfolio before thinking about doing deals in other jurisdictions or cross-border deals, says Schuberth.
In the past, Volkswagen Leasing has used Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston and ABN AMRO as lead managers for securitizations. These banks are parent company Volkswagen AG's traditional relationship banks. Schuberth says Volkswagen Bank's internal securitization team is going to structure the loan deals themselves, but will be looking for investment banks to lead manage them. No firms have been contacted as of yet.