The International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation 2022

I am privileged once again, on behalf of Sidley Austin LLP and as the Guide's Contributing Editor, 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 15th edition, which provides continued proof that it continues to be as relevant today as ever.

In the Preface to last year's Guide, written in March 2021, I tempted fate by pointing out that the first few months of 2021 had been as busy a time in the securitisation and structured finance markets as many practitioners had known since pre-2008-financial crisis years. Fortunately (in some respects), the rest of 2021 continued on a similar trajectory, with issuance of new securitised products in Europe increasing by an estimated 17.5% across the financial year in comparison to the prior year (an estimated EUR 233bn in 2021 vs EUR 198bn in 2020). 2021 has since been identified by a number of sources as reflecting the highest volume of placed securitisation issuance in Europe since 2007, i.e. a new post-global financial crisis record. As has been the case for a number of years, one of the main drivers for growth was the European CLO market, which saw a near 100% increase in issuance volumes in comparison to 2020, although general securitisation issuance excluding broadly syndicated CLOs also remained strong, resulting in a very busy year for many securitisation practitioners.

Not only have the securitisation markets survived through the combined upheavals of the global COVID-19 pandemic (which of course continues at the time of writing, but is perhaps less "novel" than was the case when compiling this guide a few years ago), but European structured finance has reacted to the "new normal" with its typical resilience and adaptability, evidencing once again the flexibility and durability of the structures and market participants that together drive the market forward.

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 2022 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 and regulatory frameworks for securitisation across 22 (a 10% increase on the previous year) individual jurisdictions. It also surveys practices from the perspective of leading and experienced practitioners in these jurisdictions through the expert analysis chapters (which continue to be of even wider scope, and even more thought-provoking content, than previous editions), 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.
 
I am privileged once again, on behalf of Sidley Austin LLP and as the Guide's Contributing Editor, 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 15th edition, which provides continued proof that it continues to be as relevant today as ever.

In the Preface to last year's Guide, written in March 2021, I tempted fate by pointing out that the first few months of 2021 had been as busy a time in the securitisation and structured finance markets as many practitioners had known since pre-2008-financial crisis years. Fortunately (in some respects), the rest of 2021 continued on a similar trajectory, with issuance of new securitised products in Europe increasing by an estimated 17.5% across the financial year in comparison to the prior year (an estimated EUR 233bn in 2021 vs EUR 198bn in 2020). 2021 has since been identified by a number of sources as reflecting the highest volume of placed securitisation issuance in Europe since 2007, i.e. a new post-global financial crisis record. As has been the case for a number of years, one of the main drivers for growth was the European CLO market, which saw a near 100% increase in issuance volumes in comparison to 2020, although general securitisation issuance excluding broadly syndicated CLOs also remained strong, resulting in a very busy year for many securitisation practitioners.

Not only have the securitisation markets survived through the combined upheavals of the global COVID-19 pandemic (which of course continues at the time of writing, but is perhaps less "novel" than was the case when compiling this guide a few years ago), but European structured finance has reacted to the "new normal" with its typical resilience and adaptability, evidencing once again the flexibility and durability of the structures and market participants that together drive the market forward.

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 2022 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 and regulatory frameworks for securitisation across 22 (a 10% increase on the previous year) individual jurisdictions. It also surveys practices from the perspective of leading and experienced practitioners in these jurisdictions through the expert analysis chapters (which continue to be of even wider scope, and even more thought-provoking content, than previous editions), 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.