Spain’s 2024 in Structured Finance So Far: Auto ABS Missing

Totalling EUR 2.7 billion, Spain’s two new securitisations this year pack enough punch to boost its total issuance volume above another similarly sized market. The Netherlands, as noted in our write-up, has more issuance this year in terms of the number of transactions, but its volume falls short of Spain’s. We have rated both of Spain’s securitisations, a consumer loan ABS deal and an RMBS deal. Historically, these two sectors often see new issuance every year in Spain, and the one notable sector missing so far is auto ABS. Spanish NPL securitisations have also not yet emerged this year, but their issuance is much more sporadic than that of auto ABS; therefore, we would not rule out future NPL issuance for the entirety of 2024.

We expect future Spanish auto ABS deals to have an increasing share of electric vehicles underlying their portfolios, albeit at a slower pace than in other European countries. Based on new vehicle registrations, the share of petrol- or diesel-fuelled vehicles has dropped across Europe, though Spain lags the five main markets (France, Germany, Italy, UK, and the Netherlands).