US debt issuance survives Enron.

Financial News, August, 2002

US asset-backed debt issuance hit a record high of $166bn ([euro]169bn) in the first half of this year in spite of a fall in credit quality, according to a report released yesterday by Moody's Investors Service, the credit ratings agency.The data highlight the fact that ABS issuance has emerged relatively unscathed from the renewed focus in the US this year on structured finance deals, caused largely by Enron's disastrous use of special purpose vehicles - a crucial element of most asset-backed bonds - to move liabilities off its balance sheet.

It will also be of comfort to ABS investors concerned by the drop in growth of structured finance issuance in Europe, which fell from 76% in the first half of last year to 17% in the first half of 2002.