The International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation 2021

I am privileged once again, on behalf of Sidley Austin LLP, to author the preface to the latest edition of ICLG - Securitisation, which continues to be one of the most comprehensive comparative guides to the practice of securitisation available today. The
Guide is now in its 14th edition, which provides unquestionable proof that it continues to be as relevant today as ever.
In the preface to last year's Guide, written in March 2020, I sought to make the argument that, although the times were extremely challenging and we found ourselves in the depths of a global pandemic, we had reason to be positive about the securitisation markets given their historic ability to withstand prior economic and regulatory headwinds. As I write now, a year further on, with events like Brexit having occurred and the COVID-19 pandemic moving into a new, potentially more manageable phase in some countries, it is heartening to see that this attempt at positivity does not seem entirely misplaced given the relative levels of activity in the first quarter of 2021 in the financial marketplace generally and the securitisation markets most specifically. For many of us involved as transactional securitisation practitioners, the opening months of 2021 have been as busy a time as we can remember in recent (post-2008 financial crisis) years.
Whilst the effect of COVID-19 and events in the wider political and regulatory landscape have been both tragic and dramatic therefore, the securitisation markets have survived, with structural and conceptual innovation apparent through the application
of new laws and regulations to existing assets together with the application of new assets (cryptocurrencies etc.) securitised through the application of existing (in some cases very historic) laws and regulations, all of which has led to the continued progression and evolution of the securitisation markets as reflected in the various chapters of the Guide this year.
It seems as critical and worthy a task as ever therefore to maintain an accurate and up-to-date Guide regarding the relevant practices and regulation of securitisation in a variety of jurisdictions. The 2021 edition of this Guide seeks to accomplish that
objective by providing global businesses leaders, in-house counsel and international legal practitioners with ready access to important information regarding the legislative frameworks for securitisation across 20 individual jurisdictions. It also surveys practices from the perspective of leading and experienced practitioners in these jurisdictions through the expert chapters and our genuine thanks go to all of the many contributors for sharing their knowledge and experience again in this year's Guide.
We hope that you continue to find the Guide a useful and engaging insight into the world of securitisation.
Rupert Wall
Sidley Austin LLP
Head, Global Finance in Europe
Contributing Editor to ICLG - Securitisation 2021
rwall@sidley.com