PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mario Lupoli
TI  - Mini-Bond-Backed Securities: <em>A Breakthrough for Italian SMEs?</em>
AID  - 10.3905/jsf.2019.25.1.031
DP  - 2019 Apr 30
TA  - The Journal of Structured Finance
PG  - 31--42
VI  - 25
IP  - 1
4099  - https://pm-research.com/content/25/1/31.short
4100  - https://pm-research.com/content/25/1/31.full
AB  - This article offers an overview on the recent Italian regulation of nongranular securitization. A specific legal framework for mini-bonds enables small enterprises to issue and list bonds at a reduced cost and under an advantageous fiscal regime. It incentivizes securitization by improving investors’ insulation against a number of operational risks. The article provides a technical summary of the Elite Basket Bond, the first securitization of diversified mini-bonds, which has the potential to become a benchmark for other similar transactions in terms of pool, issuer characteristics, and liability structure. Recent innovations represent a pivotal effort to make investments in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) interesting for large funds and institutional players and open interesting prospects for investors. Going forward, mini-bond securitizations may represent a structured way to invest in SMEs, thereby enhancing SME access to finance. The Elite Basket Bond is arguably an instrument that is scalable and might be replicated elsewhere in Europe.TOPICS: Fixed income and structured finance, international investing, risk management, legal/regulatory/public policy