6/9/2025
Hello from Barcelona – It’s that time of year again! If you haven’t arrived yet, let me tell you it is “Scorchio” and it’s set to stay that way for the whole week.
I believe this is my fourth trip to Global ABS and I’m yet to see the umbrella-swag selling out as delegates dash for cover from the rain. Perhaps I’m a lucky charm – although 28c is perilously close to my idea of too hot.
With everyone rushing around today and this week, this newsletter will be intentionally brief. Scroll to the bottom for last week’s deal info.
This conference is often seen as a time to take stock of the year so far, and getting prepared for September ahead of the Summer holidays. This year, the market is functioning well, deals are sailing through primary with full cap-stacks on offer, while spreads are getting tighter and tighter.
Clearly, the market is there, which leads me to think this year’s Global ABS will have a much bigger macro/geopolitical feel to it. Fears of tariffs and wars escalating has been the only thing to slow European ABS down in 2025, and it looks likely to be the major concern for at least the rest of the year.
The fact that former MP Ben Wallace, the ex-Defense Secretary for the last Conservative government, is the keynote speaker perhaps gives a sign of just how important the question of Ukraine, Israel and tariffs are to market participants.
Of course, there is also a politics closer to home. The European Commission’s leaked proposals appear to have divided opinion, and I will certainly be taking the opportunity to understand more this week.
My initial conversations suggest that some, particularly those focused on SRT and risk-weights, are quite encouraged by the regulations. However, those more concerned with elements like how burdensome the regulations can be, due diligence, Article 5.1.e and so on, appear much less enthused.
Still, the proposals are not even out yet. The leaked documents haven’t even been proofread (I saw some spelling mistakes), and as I covered last week, there’s a long, long way to go.
Nevertheless, it will be fascinating to hear what the consensus is on the conference floor.
As for the panels themselves, while there’s always more you’d like to go to than actually attend, but here are my top picks. And yes, I have shamelessly used this section to advertise the session I’m chairing.
Tuesday
CEE-ing is Believing: Market Opportunities in Central & Eastern Europe. 10:00-10:30, Exhibition Hall: Think it will be really interesting to hear about the CEE market over the next few years. None better than Georgi Stoev, Head of Securitization at the European Investment Fund to discuss either.
Frontier Financing: Esoteric Asset Exploration. 12:15-13:00, P1-12: I’m always intrigued to hear what new, innovative ideas are coming to the market, and so the session on esoterics is always a good place to start. Plus, my colleague over at ARC Ratings, Ashley Thomas, Head of Structured Finance UK, is speaking. ARC Ratings sees a lot of private trades, so has a pretty good eye on what’s coming through into the public markets.
Wednesday
Holding Our Own: European Competitiveness in the World. 09:15-10:00, P1-12: There’s a few regulation-themed sessions, but this feels like the heavyweight edition with AFME’s Shaun Baddeley chairing and ESMA’s Thierry Sessin-Caracci also a panelist. For me, a real must-watch.
Keynote: The Rt. Hon. Ben Wallace. 11:40-12:20, P1-12: As mentioned earlier, this sort of big macro-style speech will be interesting. Wallace was hugely involved in the Johnson government’s response to the war in Ukraine, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if that was the focus.
For those less familiar with UK politics, many thought Wallace would take over from Boris Johnson as Prime Minister back in 2022. He didn’t run for leader, but managed to remain Defense Secretary under Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, until he resigned in August 2023.
Roundtable Series: Traders’ Perspectives. 16:00-16:45, P1-P12: Always a must-watch. I think traders often give great insight into how the market is functioning. As a journalist, it was invaluable information – I’m sure it still is.
Roundtable Series: Researchers’ Perspectives. 16:45-17:30, P1-P12: Really broad panelists for this session, which I’m chairing. Going to cover off a lot of topics, but I’m sure there’ll be some fascinating perspectives.
Thursday
“Industry Legends” Fireside Chat. 11.30-12:15, P1-13: No pressure lads! Sure to be a great panel, particularly for those younger delegates. Pretty hard to beat the trio of Kevin Ingram from Clifford Chance, Alex Batchvarov from Bofa, and Joe Lau of LordCap Green.
Lastly, myself and a rather large portion of the ARC family are here this week. Our stand is E7, so please do come and say hello.
Hope you have a great week!
Tom
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