Baker & McKenzie advised Mercedes-Benz Bank AG as lead counsel in its fifth public ABS. Notes with an aggregate principal amount of EUR1 billion secured by auto loan receivables were issued as 'Compartment 5' on 22 October 2014. Originator of the receivables is Mercedes-Benz Bank AG. Issuer is Silver Arrow SA, Compartment 5. The Compartment 5 bonds' interest rates are very low with a spread of 27 basis points above the reference rate. Commerzbank AG, Lloyd's Bank, BNP Paribas, DZ BANK and Unicredit Bank AG were commissioned with the placement of the Compartment 5 bonds.
Dr. Martin Kaiser, leading transaction partner, commented: "This securitization demonstrates once again that ABS transactions are extremely successful with high-quality assets and remain available as an attractive form of financing. German auto loan securitizations are high-quality securities, which have recently been promoted by the ECB."
Baker & McKenzie regularly advises on projects in the field of structured financing and debt financing. Most recently, the firm advised Citigroup on the securitization of car loans worth EUR973 million for Toyota Kredit Bank GmbH, BMW on the securitization of auto loans worth EUR1 billion, DZ Bank on restructuring and modernizing its EUR10 billion ABCP program CORAL Capital Limited and NIBC Bank N.V. on the restructuring of existing financial transactions of the Albis Group as part of the acquisition of Gallinat Bank by NIBC. With a large number of German and international transactions, Baker & McKenzie has a firm grip on the ABS sector particularly in the automotive industry. Regular clients include VW Bank, VW Leasing, Porsche Financial Services, Mercedes Bank, BMW Bank, LeasePlan, FFS Bank and MAN Finance International.
Legal advisor Mercedes-Benz Bank:
Baker & McKenzie
Lead:
Dr. Martin Kaiser (partner, Banking & Finance, Frankfurt)
Team:
Banking & Finance: Sandra Wittinghofer (partner, Frankfurt), Sahra Demirbilek, Stephan Lehnen (all associates, Frankfurt); Laurent Fessmann, Basile Femelate (Baker & McKenzie Luxembourg)
Derivates: Vincent Keaveny (Baker & McKenzie London)
Consumer protection laws: Dr. Holger Lutz (partner, Frankfurt)
Tax/Turnover Tax Law: Christoph Becker (partner, Frankfurt), Jochen Meyer-Burow (partner, Frankfurt)
