OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2007. Landmark transaction for the Russian consumer finance market sees securitization of a new asset class - credit card receivables. Home Credit & Finance Bank LLC (Moody's Ba3/NP/D-, S&P B+/B), one of the leading banks specializing in consumer banking in Russia, has announced the successful closing of the first-ever asset-backed transaction for a Russian credit cards receivables portfolio (the "Securitization"), reported the press-centre of HCFB.

The Securitization transaction was structured and arranged by ABN AMRO and UniCredit (HVB) and closed on August 23, 2007.

The securitization funding comes in the form of rouble denominated notes (the "Notes") issued by Eurasia Credit Card Funding 1 SA., the funding vehicle. The transaction is structured as a master trust which will enable the issuance of future notes via the same structure as well as future series with different structural characteristics via new issuer vehicles.

Moody's Investors Service assigned a senior notes rating of Baa2. The Moody's rating assigned to the Notes addresses the expected loss posed to investors by the legal final maturity. In Moody's opinion, the structure allows for the timely payment of interest and ultimate repayment of the principal.

The Securitization is arranged to finance a total amount of over RUR 11,5 billion of the bank's assets at a competitive rate. HCFB is planning to refinance warehouse facility as a term public transaction by the end of 2008 subject to market conditions.

International law firms Baker & McKenzie and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised HCFB and the arrangers respectively.

"We are happy to announce this landmark transaction for HCFB, which builds on our securitization experience gained from previous transactions. The structure is complex and innovative for the Russian and international capital markets and it provides an exciting platform for future issuance to support our dynamic and growing business. It also represents further step in our stated strategy for diversification of the funding sources" comments Dmitri Mosolov, the Deputy Chairman of HCFB Management Board.

"The Russian consumer lending industry continues to develop and mature at a remarkable rate. More sophisticated products like the revolving card loans will become more and more important, and HCFB is of course a very key player in this market. On this very innovative deal, the traditional master trust structure for credit cards has been combined with a technology which we had developed on HCFB's earlier consumer loan securitization. This way, an optimal balance between operational and commercial requirements was provided" comments Fazel Ahmed, Head of Emerging Europe Securitisation at UniCredit in London.

"A Master Trust structure for existing assets is one of the more sophisticated and advanced tools used in the securitization markets and underscored Home Credit's commitment to adopt best practices in its securitization program and flexibility to manage future growth. The structure not only allows the company to select different funding sources, but also delivers economies of scale as subsequent issuances can be structured with much lower establishment costs. The success in completing a master trust structure in Russia is testament of how far the Russian securitization market has evolved over the last three years" comments Gary Watmore, Head of Emerging Markets ABS at ABN AMRO.

"After completing the first ever Russian law "true sale" securitisation in Russia, HCFB taps the market with this landmark transaction demonstrating HCFB's commitment to growth and innovation. This is a very important transaction for the Russian market which securitizes a new asset class - credit card receivables. It will open the doors to other Russian originators of credit card receivables, which is a fast growing asset class in Russia. The transaction uses a sophisticated sale mechanics which was structured under Russian law to sell credit card receivables generated under credit card agreements entered with HCFB's customers. The sale mechanics is combined with a complex funding structure allowing for the multiple issuances of different series of notes to various investors" comments Vladimir Dragunov, partner and Head of Russian Securitisation and Structured Finance Practice at Baker & McKenzie.

"We are extremely pleased to have been part of this landmark transaction which for the first time has opened the Russian securitisation market to this sophisticated tool," said Friedrich Jergitsch, a partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.