Asset securitization, one of the core techniques of structured finance, constitutes a growing segment of the European and global capital markets. In recent years the ABS market has enabled companies and banks to finance a wide range of assets and claims, and has attracted a variety of fixed-income investors. Not only does securitization transform illiquid assets into tradable securities, but it also manages to transform risk by means of the separation of specific financial assets from a company or financial institution with little loss of revenue. The assets, once separated from the originator, are employed as backing for high-quality securities designed to appeal to investors.

Mezzanine finance, including warrant bonds, convertible notes, preferred stock, index-linked securities and others now offer corporations and banks a means of financing during circumstances when ordinary techniques fall short. There is no longer a clear division between debt and equity. Companies seek the best of each, while lenders and investors often demand the security and priority of claims offered by debt, while expecting some participation on the upside in exchange for the risks they take.

The course explains why and when corporations and financial institutions should issue mezzanine funding, asset-backed securities, leveraged finance or other forms of structured finance. In four information-packed days of instruction and application, we offer an economic cost-benefit analysis of the techniques, an insight into the legal, tax and regulatory principles, the risks and how they can be managed, methods of cash-flow modeling, and a roadmap for choosing among the alternative forms of these techniques that are employed in today's capital market.

Some of the issues to be explored:

• What is structured finance? Why and when should companies consider the use of structured financing techniques?
  
• What are the key legal and credit issues surrounding asset-backed financing, and how can they be satisfied? Synthetic ABS: how does is really work?  How are credit derivatives used in conjunction with synthetics?
• How and when can structured notes provide cheaper funding for issuers? From an investor's point of view, how can the security be dissected, and what drives its pricing?
  
• What is mezzanine finance? How do equity-linked financing techniques such as convertible and profit-participation bonds work, and when does it make sense to use them? How are they priced?
• What is leveraged finance? How can it be used to enable a management buyout or other forms of ownership transition? When should a company undertake a leveraged recapitalization?