Spain sees last SME deal of 02, though pipeline is still hot with other ABS deals

Seven months into the year, and FTPYME TDA CAM 1 has polished off the Spanish market with the last deal of its kind for 2002, however there is still plenty of room for other types of asset-backed deals. The EURO600 million ($592.1 million) CAM 1 deal is a securitization of cash flows of loans to small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises (SMEs) granted by Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo.

The transaction marks the sixth of its kind this year and features a guarantee from the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish national budget in 2002 has allowed for EURO1.8 billion ($1.777 billion) to be allocated to transactions of this sort, and does not allow for more than EURO3.6 billion ($3.56 million) in outstanding debt. This transaction has chomped up the last bite granted by the Spanish Kingdom for the year.