Andrew Yuder, who has championed timeshare securitizations and other esoteric assets at Credit Suisse First Boston over the past two years, joined ING Barings in late December. Yuder will be heading up ING's push into esoteric and other asset classes.
"Bringing Andy on board is clearly a step up for us in terms of caliber, and he brings a new asset focus to the group as well, so we're pretty excited about it," said John Costa, managing director and head of ING's North American ABS business.
According to Costa and Yuder, the bank plans to hone in on some of its core strengths in the securitization market, such as esoteric assets and niche markets, including small business, equipment lease, timeshares and others.
"The bulge bracket folks are really looking for league table business," Yuder said. "That's not what we're going to do here. It's the clients that originate a few hundred million dollars of assets annually and do a deal or two every year... that's what were focusing on."
ING's asset-backed group is approximately 23 in size and run by Costa, who in turn reports to John Mullins, head of global securitization for ING. The North America team runs Mont Blanc Capital Corp., an ABCP conduit authorized to issue up to $15 billion in ABCP, currently using approximately $10 billion of its capacity.
"We also have a couple billion dollars of on-balance-sheet warehouse capacity," Yuder added. "And we have very strong 144A private distribution channels."
Most of ING's 2001 ABS business went into Mont Blanc, Costa said, adding that, among other things, the year was one of transition for the firm. ING bank sold a handful of businesses to ABN Amro, including its prime brokerage, segments of corporate finance, domestic equities, and its futures and options businesses, according to announcements by Amro throughout the year.
As for the year ahead, ING is aiming for opportunities left open by some of the larger investment banks that have pulled out of the niche markets, where, historically, ING has had a strong presence. ING began its conduit program in 1994, and has typically focused on the more esoteric and unusual asset classes.
Yuder, who was a managing director at CSFB, was part of the mass migration from Prudential Securities led by co-heads Joseph Donovan and Gregory Richter in early 2000.
