European ABS reporter George Smith and freelance CLO reporter Victoria Thiele discuss whether 2025 can live up to a stellar 2024. Both discuss the features they wrote for GlobalCapital’s review of the year (ABS here and CLOs here).

In CLOs, there might be a bit more of an ebb and flow to issuance next year, but expectations are for another strong year of supply, with a quick start in January. The European middle market CLO market could also take off, after Barings priced the first deal earlier this year.

There is a similar optimism in ABS, with new issuers, new asset classes and heavy supply expected. Data centres are one standout area where growth is expected, while bank supply is also likely to continue to increase.

Optimism abounds, but risks do remain particularly because of macro uncertainty. This is the final episode of Another Fine Mezz for the year, but the show will return to cover how 2025 unfolds with regular episodes in January.