Cosmos hits Taiwan's ABS market

UBS Limited and HVB Singapore structured and brought to market the first cross-border transaction from Taiwan. The deal G&M Finance Limited issued a US$230 million bond rated Aa3' by Moody's Investors Service and AA-' from Standard & Poor's. It securitizes a portfolio of Taiwan dollar-denominated cash card loans originated by Cosmos Bank, a Taiwanese bank, marking the bank's first securitization foray.

"The prospects look pretty good for the issuance market in Taiwan," said a source at one of the rating agencies. "We expect quite a bit of activity in CBOs as well as RMBS. In addition we know that market players are also looking at the possibility for CMBS transactions."