Alantra advises Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (Helaba) on a credit risk sharing transaction amounting to approx. €2.3bn

Dec 2024

Sell-side advisory

Value c. €2.3bn

London – Alantra has acted as Arranger and Financial Advisor to Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (“Helaba”) for its second credit risk sharing transaction on a reference portfolio of large corporate loans amounting to approx. €2.3bn.

The transaction included three tranches which referenced a corporate portfolio of €2.3 billion, with Helaba holding the equity tranche (first loss) as well as the senior tranche. A securitization special purpose entity, Kingston Capital (“SSPE”), provided Helaba with credit protection for the mezzanine tranche, which was funded by the SSPE issuing credit-linked notes (CLNs) equivalent to the amount of the credit protection. The CLNs were sold to two international institutional investors, following a competitive bidding process.

The transaction meets the criteria of a “simple, transparent and standardized” (STS Compliance) securitization. Subject to regulatory approval as the transaction transfers significant risk (“SRT”), Helaba will be able to release risk-weighted assets of c. €1.0bn.

Astrid Joost-van der Spek, Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets at Helaba, said: “This is a very positive development and in view of the upcoming surge in financing needs, also related to the transformation, such SRT transactions will become an essential part of balance sheet management.”

Holger Beyer, Managing Director at Alantra, commented: “It was a privilege to assist the Helaba team in the successful execution of this landmark transaction. The level of investor interest in the transaction and the pricing achieved are testament to the quality of Helaba’s loan origination and track record in corporate lending.”

Tim Austrup, Head of Corporate Banking at Helaba, added: “Our second synthetic loan securitization was not only successfully placed again, but also achieved improved economics with a significantly shorter structuring and placement process. We drew on the experience gained from our extremely successful customer business and demonstrated our many years of expertise in structuring and portfolio selection.”

The successful execution of the transaction underscores our Credit Solutions team’s strong expertise in the synthetic SRTs securitization space, developing complex and innovative structures to achieve our clients’ objectives. It also demonstrates the high level of investor interest in and the potential of the DACH SRT market.