DBRS Releases January 2013 Monthly Canadian ABS Report

DBRS has today released its Monthly Canadian ABS Report, which provides an overview of the Canadian term asset-backed securities (ABS) market for the month ending January 31, 2013. The report provides detailed information on the $31.4 billion market, with disclosure on issuance volumes, asset composition and 12-month transaction performance histories. New transactions and rating actions that took place during and after the reporting period are also summarized in the report.

The total outstanding amount in the Canadian ABS market was $31.4 billion, up 4.4% from the previous month’s outstanding amount of $30.1 billion. There were several new issuances in the month. CARDS II Trust issued $1.6 billion in notes and Ford Auto Securitization Trust (FAST) issued $538.2 million in notes. Regular runoff amounted to $291.7 million in January.

The term ABS market was off to a strong start in January, with two new issuances in the credit card space. As reported in the “Canadian Structured Finance: Big Wins, Notable Misses and the Great Unknown” study, DBRS expects credit card securitization to continue to play a dominant role in Canadian structured finance. With a heavy maturity schedule in 2013 of approximately $6.7 billion (Canadian-dollar equivalent), the cost differential between the Canadian dollars and its U.S. counterpart will continue to play a large part in driving future issuance.

Credit cards remain the dominant asset class within the ABS market, comprising 79.5% of the market, flat month over month. Auto loans and auto leases increased to 11.7%, followed by equipment finance, down slightly to 3.4%. The ABS market composition continues to favour consumer lending, with credit card and auto loan/lease programs accounting for approximately 91.2% of the market.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The full report providing additional analytical detail is available by clicking on the link under Related Research at the right of the screen or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.