UBS Warburg Arranges 15bn Euro Secured Note Through Gibraltar

from Guy Canessa, Gibraltar Finance Centre

18 July 2000

UBS Warburg, a business group of UBS AG, established a 15 billion euro multi-issue secured note programme via a Gibraltar special purpose vehicle (SPV) in June. Global Asset Programme Ltd (GAP) is UBS's first foray into the Rock, but it was Deutsche Bank that first spotted the attraction of the jurisdiction a year ago. Deutsche continues to make use of Gibraltar and has recently added a fifth SPV, Gears, to its suite of vehicles.

Repackaging is essentially the issue of securities by an SPV, backed by collateral of the investor's choice, and is intended to meet the investor's exact needs in terms of structure, interest rate and currency exposure. Gibraltar's attractions include the fact that it is a European Union domicile. In addition, its regulatory framework and professional infrastructure match those of the UK.

David Garner, a Director with UBS Warburg, explained that the EU and OECD status of Gibraltar makes a repackaging vehicle in this British Overseas Territory attractive for a large range of European investors, and that he had high hopes for the programme established by GAP.

"We have been impressed by the local financial infrastructure, in terms of the legal professionals, programme administration and so on," Mr Garner commented. "In particular, we have found the Gibraltar Government to be most helpful, professional and constructive to work with."

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