It was another week of 100% attendance from the Another Fine Mezz team, but such was the quality of stories this week, there was a fair bit of bickering over who got to go first. 

For the starter, European Securitization reporter, George Smith had Santander's mammoth German consumer ABS to discuss, where investors chose to fill up on mezz. 

Then, the main course was provided by CLO reporter, Victoria Thiele (and to a lesser degree, securitization editor, Tom Lemmon) as the European market salivates at the prospect of its first CLO ETF after seeing the boom in the US. 

Continuing with the culinary theme, dessert is learning the lengths to which George Smith will go to watch his beloved Arsenal in the North London Derby. 

A full house again on Another Fine Mezz this week where CLO reporter Victoria Thiele was practically bouncing off the walls with three Euro CLOs to report on. 

However, host Tom Lemmon didn't quite burst her bubble as much as put into context how small it is with an update on the flood of primary market supply in US CLOs. The question across the Atlantic is whether spreads can tighten with so much in the pipeline. 

Finally, in less pleasing news, European securitization reporter George Smith explained the issues facing the first ever Green European CMBS, River Green after it was downgraded for the second time by Moody's. 

This week on Another Fine Mezz, the full podcasting trio was on hand to digest yet another hectic week for European Securitization. 

First up, ABS reporter, George Smith - with his wonderful new microphone - explained why Belmont Green's buy-to-let RMBS deal took the plaudits amongst a packed field, and even got the GlobalCapital cartoon as reward for printing just 40bp wide of UK prime RMBS.

In CLOs, reporter Victoria Thiele spent the week continuing to analyse how the Altice debacle would affect CLO managers, and in particular, their triple-C buckets. Securitization Editor, Tom Lemmon also chipped in with more positive news from the US CLO market, where the pipeline is so busy its preventing anyone from tightening their triple-As.

In an admirable effort to bring securitization to the people, George sat down on a Monday morning straight out of a holiday, beard still wild and unkempt, to discuss the latest movements in the ABS and CLO market with Victoria.

Unusual activity in the second lien UK RMBS market kept the GlobalCapital reporters busy last week. George dug into the drivers of growth in this niche sector. For listeners who cannot get enough of second charge mortgages, Victoria spoke about Equifinance's recent debut deal on AFM's sister podcast in George's absence on Friday

Primary CLO activity is taking its sweet time to restart after Easter, but great things may lie ahead: Deutsche Bank bumped its new issuance forecast for 2024 up to €37bn off the back of a record first quarter. Victoria discussed how amortisations could increasingly drive supply and demand in the months to come. 

◆ Don't sweat the downgrade 
◆ ABS rush ahead 
◆ Another Fine Member for the team

Three became four this week on everyone's favourite securitization podcast. GlobalCapital's newest reporter Diana Bravo joined the team from New York to say hello and discuss an interesting development in the US solar ABS market.

Rating agencies downgraded Altice in the wake of a fateful investor call. This was bad news for European CLO managers, given that the French telecoms company is the single most widely held name in their portfolios. The situation made for some thunderous headlines, but fears of a major impact on the market are exaggerated, found Victoria Thiele.

A wave of ABS issuance kept George Smith on his feet for large parts of March, and it looks like issuers are just getting started. Bankers, investors (and journalists) should prepare for a busy market until the Global ABS conferencein June.

Victoria Thiele took on hosting duties for this week's episode of Another Fine Mezz with usual host, Tom Lemmon, off playing golf somewhere. 

With so many ABS deals in the market, Victoria also had to ease the load on George Smith earlier in the week. 

But Victoria and George weren't the only ones in need of a little extra time. European ABS investors were so stretched that the question is not around whether there's enough demand to keep issuance flowing, rather if there's enough time to do the necessary due diligence. 

In European CLOs, Victoria went for depth as opposed to breadth this week after Arini impressively returned to the market for just the second time. 

And finally, while many want to believe that market participants in securitization only care about maths (and money), one "ratings guy" proved there is also room for fashion. 

This week's episode of Another Fine Mezz had a certain morning after the night before feel, with Tom Lemmon and Victoria Thiele still a bit fragile from their midweek fun. Fortunately, George Smith had youth on his side to lend a steadier hand. 

The trio reflected on a bustling (and boozy!) night at GlobalCapital's 2024 European Securitization Awards.

While the event was a great success, it was not enough to stop a pickup in activity in ABS, particularly in euros. Plus in sterling, the market looked on with intrigue as Nationwide initiated its first "drop" of Silverstone Master Issuer stock. 

The outlook is perhaps not as rosy in CLOs where there could be some spread plateauing after a strong few weeks. Bubbling away in the background are yet more arguments about loan docs as power shifts away from CLO managers. 

And finally, George gives a masterclass in the art of self defence. 

This week on Another Fine Mezz, it was a case one step forward and two back as host Tom Lemmon returned only to find CLO reporter, Victoria Thiele away from her desk and enjoying the beauty of South Korea. 

With Tom only just back in one piece after SFVegas 2024, there was much to discuss. From spying who's visiting from their European bases, to paying homage to the superior knowledge residing in GlobalCapital's marketing team, and of course, the unofficial winners of the Swag awards.

With many European teams out in Vegas, George had time to investigate mezzanine spreads a bit deeper with Pepper's recent deal showing some impressive figures. 

Finally, there was a look ahead to GloablCapital's European Securitization Awards on March 13, which is also in conjunction with the first GC Live on all things UK Securitization. 

As much the three hosts of Another Fine Mezz love talking about deals, this episode is dedicated to the people who make them happen. At the start of a new year, some of our listeners may be thinking about the next steps in their careers, while others are looking to grow their teams.

We are very pleased that Edward James, structured finance recruiter and founder of RCQ Associates, agreed to sit down with Victoria and chat about his expectations for job opportunities and compensation in 2024.

But of course, George and Victoria can not resist a bit of market chat. The ABS market is finally back with some activity — including one deal that makes a reporter sing. In CLO world, spreads might not be getting tighter but they are getting more interesting.

Sadly, Tom was on a plane to Las Vegas for this recording, while the (fun) chaos of SFVegas 2024 saw the podcast edited somewhat slowly too. 

With SFVegas just hours away, Tom Lemmon sat down with Michael Bright, CEO of the Structured Finance Association (SFA) to hear how preparations for the huge annual gathering was going.

Around 9,000 attendees expected this year, which means Bright and the team at the SFA are constantly looking improve the offering at the Aria Hotel to keep the securitization market coming back. That included dealing with some of the nuances required for the most high-profile of guests.

Bright has had an extremely varied career, which includes stints at Wachovia Bank, BlackRock, Ginnie Mae and working for a US Senator.

Finally, Bright spoke about his constant desire to learn led him to explore different sections of finance and policy work.