George Smith

London

European Securitization Reporter at GlobalCapital Securitization

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Articles

Franz Ranero on swapping A&O for Latham after 25 years

2 weeks ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith

GlobalCapital sat down with Latham & Watkins structured finance partners Franz Ranero, a CLO specialist, and Jeremiah Wagner to discuss Ranero joining the firm from A&O Shearman in April. They also discussed what the leaked European Commission papers on securitization regulation will mean for the market. GlobalCapital: Why was now the time to join Latham?
Get the details right or ABS regulation reform will fail

3 weeks ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith

Documents leaked last week show the European Commission is serious about reforming its rules so as to liberate Europe's securitization market, squeezed in a regulatory headlock since the 2008 financial crisis. Two draft proposals for policy reforms, addressing the Capital Requirements Regulation and the Securitization Regulation, were revealed by MLex, the regulatory news service, on May 28.
What on ETF happened?

3 weeks ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith |Tom Hall

Before jumping into the BIG NEWS on European regs, George Smith sat down with Fran Rodilosso and Bill Sokol of VanEck to discuss how CLO ETFs in the US fared during the post-tariff volatility in April. Much was made of ETF outflows at the time by some. After all, it was the first real test of how CLO ETFs would stand up in the face of volatility, making this a timely conversation with two people who were in the heart of the action.
The great rates conundrum

4 weeks ago | globalcapital.com | Jon Hay |Mike Turner |Addison Gong |George Smith

Interest rates coming down was supposed to be a sure bet. Now it’s not. Long government bond yields are rising, and not just in the US. Investors are worried — the term premium is climbing, which means it’s not enough now. It’s safest to stay away from duration. We try to diagnose this queasy market for high quality bonds. Are there any silver linings? MLex, a regulatory news service, has leaked two crucial draft proposals from the European Commission for how it will reform rules on securitization.
In capital relief securitization, slow and steady can lose the race

1 month ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith

As more banks use cash securitization to obtain capital relief, they will need to starting putting deals out earlier in the year, or will run into the familiar problem of oversupply in the ABS market. The pipeline of full capital stack securitizations often takes until April to really get moving, because that suits banks' own timelines. But the result is a busy May, June, September and October, which can take a toll on order books.
Vida Bank: a living embodiment of securitization's benefits

1 month ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith

Securitization is riding high in Europe's policy debate on how it can regain economic competitiveness and escape being left behind by China and the US. Leading industry and political figures like Mario Draghi, Christian Noyer and Enrico Letta all mentioned securitization in their weighty reports on the problem last year. Many politicians may be struggling to catch up. Wasn't securitization that terrible thing that caused the last financial crisis?
A sigh of (capital) relief

1 month ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith |Tom Hall

It took a while to get going this year, but the cash capital relief pipeline is now in full swing. Santander remains the main supplier of paper, despite such deals becoming increasingly popular and programmatic from other banks in recent years. The bank has been active, issuing from its German, Spanish and now Italian consumer shelves in recent weeks. Notably, last week, BBVA also placed a large quantity of mezz: over €330m from an enormous €2.7bn Spanish deal.
Coming out to play

1 month ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith |Tom Hall |Oliver West

Host and senior reporter George Smith this week welcomed Tom Hall back from an extended holiday in Australia, with our intrepid reporter having been gifted a didgeridoo to take back as a memento. Of course, playing a didgeridoo requires a special technique known as circular breathing. Tom returned just as the optimists in the European ABS market reckon new issue primary is about to come full circle and return to March spread levels after April's tariff-driven widening.
Vantage goes on screen with first euro data centre ABS

1 month ago | globalcapital.com | George Smith

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Bearish Investor Sentiment Eases, but So Do the Bulls

2 months ago | advisoranalyst.com | George Smith |LPL Research

by George Smith, Portfolio Strategist, LPL ResearchAdditional content provided by John Lohse, CFAÂ Recent Survey ResultsThe most recent weekly sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), published today, April 24, 2025, reveals a slight easing of bearish investor sentiment.