Market highlights and commentary

According to Eurostat, GDP rose by 0.6% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in the Euro zone (EU19) and by 0.5% in the EU28 during the first quarter of 2016. Unemployment was 10.2% (EU19) and 9.7% (EU28) as of the end of March 2016, the lowest rate recorded since 2011 (EU19) and 2009 (EU28).

Term Issuance and Outstanding Volumes In Q1 2016, EUR 56.9 billion of securitised product was issued in Europe, a decline of 20.4% from Q4 2015 (EUR 71.4 billion) but an increase of 61.2% from Q1 2015 (EUR 35.3 billion). Of the EUR 56.9 billion issued, EUR 14.3 billion was placed, representing 25.2% of issuance, compared to EUR 15.6 billion placed in Q4 2015 (representing 21.8%) and EUR 19.7 billion placed in Q1 2015 (representing 55.9%).

For the first quarter, UK RMBS continued to lead placed totals (EUR 5.8 billion), followed by European CLOs (EUR 2.6 billion) and Dutch RMBS (EUR 1.8 billion). Net issuance remained negative, with EUR 1.27 trillion outstanding at the end of 1Q’16, down from EUR 1.30 trillion at the end of 4Q’15. Of this, EUR 718.1 billion, or 56.8%, was retained.