Nissan's $1.5 Billion Deal Expected Thursday, First TALF Eligible
March 17 2009 - 4:13PM
Dow Jones News
Automaker Nissan (NSANY) is expected to sell $1.5 billion of
bonds backed by auto receivables on Thursday, making it potentially
the first offering eligible for the Federal Reserve's program aimed
at jump starting consumer lending.
The bulk of the deal, called NAROT 2009-A, carries top triple-A
ratings, meaning that investors will be able to borrow funds from
the Fed's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, known as
TALF, to invest in this bond offering.
Banc of America Securities and JP Morgan are the joint leads on
the deal.
The Fed's $200 billion program, for which the central bank began
accepting applications Tuesday, was set up specifically to
encourage issuance in the market for consumer loan-backed
securities. This market dried up during the financial upheaval that
began last fall.
The application deadline for the first round of financing
through TALF is Thursday, with disbursement funds due March 25.
Market participants expect more bond issuers to follow Nissan.
Auto lender World Omni Financial Corp. and Ford Motor Co.'s Ford
Motor Credit Co. are likely to issue deals that would be eligible
for the program.
"We expect a rush of consumer asset-backed securities' issuance
and investors lining up with financing," said Darrell Wheeler, head
of securitization research at Citigroup. "Financing for buying safe
assets is a compelling investment."
Under the Fed's program, a company could use $1 million of its
own money and get a $9 million loan from the Fed to buy $10 million
of asset-backed securities. If the bond's value rises to $11
million, the investor gets to keep the profit but if it falls below
$9 million, the investor would lose only the initial $1
million.
The TALF has taken a long time to get off the ground and is one
of several programs initiated by the Fed to help stabilize
financial markets and stimulate lending.
Price guidance on the Nissan deal has already circulated,
according to a person familiar with the deal. The $357 million 0.32
year tranche is expected to yield 40 basis points over a short-term
benchmark.
The $323 million 0.99-year portion is expected at 185 to 200
basis points over short-term futures benchmark. The $493 million
1.98 year portion is expected at 200 to 215 basis and the $196
million 3.16 year part in the 325 to 350 basis points over interest
rate swaps.
-By Anusha Shrivastava, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2371; anusha.shrivastava@dowjones.com
(Liz Rappaport of The Wall Street Journal contributed to this
report)