Repack Is Back: Issuances In 2020

Repackaging ("repack") programme issuances have gained momentum this year, despite the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic elsewhere in structured markets, as investors continue to gravitate towards this highly flexible method of financing.

The proliferation of more streamlined legal documentation for repack programmes in recent years, using Cayman Islands, Irish, Luxembourg or Jersey-based vehicles, allows arranging banks to quickly issue debt securities in a variety of forms, once an underlying asset has been matched with an investor. Often, it is the ultimate investor who, having first identified a particular class or type of collateral for which they wish to invest, provides the impetus for the arranging bank to structure a particular series via their existing repack platform.