The German auto ABS sector is beginning to see some signs of life. A second auto deal announced this week come on the heels of the well received Volkswagen deal, which also priced this week.
The new deal dubbed A -BEST 5, is issued by FGA Capital, a joint venture between Fiat Group and Credit Agricole CA. The structured will offer investors €627 million ($798 million) of triple-A rated notes. The closing is slated for the end of September.
Banca IMI and Credit Agricole CIB are joint arranger and joint lead-manager for the deal.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen reportedly upsized its auto lease ABS deal VCL 12 on the back of strong investor demand. The deal was increased to €519 million, it was originally slated to offer €475 million. HSBC and Commerzbank are joint leads on the auto asset-backed securities’ public offering.
A Fitch Ratings report released earlier this month showed that although German ABS is performing well, overall new auto ABS issuance volumes in 2Q10 were four times lower than in 1Q10, with only two German auto ABS deals launched, totaling €1 billion.
A comparison with 2Q09 showed a reduction in new auto ABS issuance in 2Q10 of three times.
