Santander、BBVA、德意志银行推进至少175亿美元贷款组合SRT风险转移交易，行业发行量或创纪录

Banco Santander SA, BBVA SA and Deutsche Bank AG are working on multiple significant risk transfers, testing the resilience of booming demand for the high-yield trade as threats to the global economy grow.

The major European lenders are lining up deals with investors to offload default risk linked to at least $17.5 billion in lending across a range of sectors. Santander is discussing five SRTs on portfolios including commercial real estate loans originated by its UK unit as well as small and mid-size enterprise financing in Brazil, according to people familiar with the matter.

BBVA is working on an SRT tied to about €5 billion ($5.8 billion) of large corporate loans and is also starting to discuss a deal related to lending to smaller companies, the people said, asking not to be identified because the transactions are private. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, has kicked off the planned sale of an SRT to hedge about $4 billion of large corporate loans, they added.

Representatives for Santander, BBVA and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

SRTs typically provide default protection on 5% to 15% of a loan book, often the most junior piece. That means investors in the instruments are exposed if credit quality deteriorates. Rising interest rates, supply shocks and concerns about artificial intelligence could prompt buyers to raise the bar for deals as banks step up issuance, keen to secure capital relief before year-end.

Lenders, mostly in Europe and North America, are on track to achieve a record-breaking $45 billion of SRT sales this year, up from $41 billion in 2025, according to estimates released in July by Crescent Capital Group LP, which invests in the instruments. Sales in the first half of the year surpassed $18 billion, the firm said.

Investors are drawn by the double-digit returns frequently offered. Manulife CQS Investment Management is targeting an internal rate of return of about 13% for the fourth iteration of its regulatory capital relief fund.

Money continues to flow into firms targeting the securitization trade. BNP Paribas Asset Management recently won a mandate from the Arizona State Retirement System to invest $600 million in SRTs, while Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has agreed to invest in a fund run by private credit manager Christofferson Robb & Co.

Upsized Deal

Among its deals, Santander is finalizing an SRT tied to a portfolio of about £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) of commercial real estate and project financing from its UK arm, an increase of about £400 million on initial discussions, according to people familiar with the matter. The lender is also carrying out a so-called unfunded credit protection tied to a portfolio of about €3 billion of Spanish mortgages, they said, and working on an SRT deal linked to a portfolio of company loans originated by its Portuguese unit.

The Brazil deal would be linked to about 12 billion reais ($2.3 billion) of loans to small and mid-size companies, and the Madrid-based lender is also exploring a transaction tied to its loan book in Mexico, they added.

BBVA’s large corporate loans SRT will be equivalent to about 5% of the reference portfolio, the people said.

Final terms of the deals are subject to change on the back of discussions with investors.