Food for thought (TT Mar03 p41-43)

Since it began in 1986, securitisation in the UK has developed rapidly and is now the largest securitisation market in Europe. While in volume terms issuance by financial institutions has represented the bulk of the UK market, companies are increasingly turning to securitisation as a means of financing ever more diverse assets and businesses. As you will see in Figure 1, it now accounts for almost a quarter of bond issuance for UK companies. While securitisation by financial institutions has led the way (see Box 1), the technology and expertise developed for those transactions have formed major building blocks for the corporate market.