Structured Finance Attorney Discusses First UK Securitization to be Awarded a 'Prime Collateralized Securities' Label

Securitization Intelligence
April.11.2013

This article, about the first UK securitization to be awarded a Prime Collateralized Securities label, quotes structured finance associate Madeleine Horrocks, counsel to the arrangers -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole and UniCredit.

"It's an initiative which cannot singlehandedly revive the securitization market, but should be seen as a step in the right direction. But anything that helps make the deal attractive to investors, and is not too onerous or expensive for the originator to manage going forward, I think would help," said Horrocks.

"The PCS label was something that followed on naturally from that. There wasn't much additional legal work to make the deal comply with the PCS eligibility criteria, and it was something more to offer to investors," she added.

"From the point of view of PCS, they need to be happy that the deal meets their criteria in a licking-the-boxes' exercise, so in some cases, we worded our representations so that they matched exactly what was required. I think in any case that there is an argument that standardization makes for a more transparent product."