Piraeaus Bank, the third-largest private banking group in Greece, began marketing a 750 million ($965.9 million) Greek RMBS last week via joint lead managers Citigroup Global Markets and UBS. Dubbed Estia Mortgage Finance, the transaction offers investors three classes of triple-A, single-A plus and triple-B notes.
While this is the third RMBS deal to be issued by a non-government related Greek entity, it is the first to come to market since the supreme court ruling on a consumer class action regarding prepayment penalties on floating rate mortgages and interest charges - where interest is quoted on a 360-day basis but computed on a 365-day year basis. "Some borrowers were charged unfair rates and the ruling was to determine whether these borrowers would be able to reclaim the charges," one analyst looking at the deal said. "The court ruled that these consumers would be entitled to their money."
