Q: What is a true sale, and why is it important? Quick question: I have an offer in Germany for structured finance real estate in a commercial bank. Private debt markets have always existed, but direct lending a specific subset of private debt took off in a major way after the 2008 financial crisis. Most of the inbound from HHs are PC opportunities but I also get a decent number of PE and HF. At the same time, amidst abundant dry powder, funds became increasingly conservative and judicious as the sentiment shifted through the yearfocus has narrowed to fewer, quality assets and towards driving value creation within their portfolios with a dedicated focus on profitability. If you want to work in Structured Finance in the long term, stay in Structured Finance at the CRA. !, Unfortunately, the answer is quite boring: Stay in the space and work their way up at the same fund or move to a different fund.. Instead, use the extra time to do additional research so you can back up your numbers more effectively when you present your recommendation. Thanks for visiting! Mortgage-backed securities are a specific type of structured security, so the entire CMBS team could be considered a sub-group within Structured Finance. I'm thinking along the lines of PE or maybe some kind of distressed debt HF. Voluptate cum ipsa culpa velit pariatur hic. Structuring roles require something closer to real math, which means that a STEM degree and maybe even a Masters degree in a technical field is quite useful. One is for a unitranche, a structure popular in private credit that blends senior and subordinated debt into one, of between $5.3 billion and $5.4 billion, the people said. ECM bankers probs average 60 hours. A: In a true sale, the originator (company) completely transfers assets to the issuer and removes the assets from the originators Balance Sheet. On the banking side, recruiting is similar to the standard IB process in terms of the requirements and timing, but there are a few differences: Certifications are close to irrelevant in this area because the skill set is so specialized. They provide loans to mid-sized and smaller companies that are directly originated with no or minimal syndication. Also the definition of magnum opus aligns more with that reading than what you're trying to say, as it would be awkward to refer to PE or the IB /consulting desire to exit to PE a "magnum opus". You would be a good fit for direct lending if you want to work on many different deals but not go into each one in extreme depth, and you want to do only credit analysis without considering the equity side. Another option might be a credit fund, including ones housed within hedge funds, PE firms, and even distressed PE firms, as your skill set is more relevant for credit analysis. A: Stable and predictable cash flow (or the perception thereof) is the most important factor. Higher coverage is better. This is an example of subordination, and its a feature of almost every structured product: the issuer pools the loans and splits them into tranches with different risk/return profiles. Voluptatem fugiat optio ea nam voluptatem. WSO says ECM has no exit ops because ECM doesn't exit well to PE, as others have pointed out. Here are some links if you want to learn more about the field: Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions and Breaking Into Wall Street. Is NYC experience something a finance professional should have? I have an opportunity to recruit for a private credit role for my junior year internship at a large shop through a connection. Companies (originators) raise capital via structured products because they can often do so at a lower overall cost than if they used traditional financing options, such as a corporate bond issued directly by the company. What do you think are the main areas or skills a commercial banking lender should focus on in order to transition his or her career to direct lending? It pays $0 only if both loans default in that case, the Junior Tranche absorbs the first $1 loss, and then the Senior Tranche absorbs the next $1 loss. I was wondering if you had any knowledge on the ease or if structurers in an IB can rotate from the securitised products groups to other teams more closely related to traditional IB so that it leads to exit opps such as those leading to KKR, Carlyle type buy side firms. This Junior Tranche pays $1 only if neither loan defaults. I do not know offhand, but as with most specialized groups, you can usually move around to other teams within IB if you do so early on (within the first 2-3 years of joining). The rule of thumb is Take IB/PE base salaries and assume lower bonuses.. IVCA is a nonprofit organisation powered by its members. Aliquid modi tempore quod vel voluptatem. 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report. The EV segment has also seen increasing deal traction with total deal activity of close to $4.2 billion and 10 deals of more than $50 million over the past 5 years. It depends on your goals. Sensitivities help but are not necessarily essential if you have reasonable scenarios. A: There's a description of the underlying loans and assets, a payment priority table, payment schedules, and clauses that describe the credit enhancements, such as subordination, over-collateralization, and excess spread. Additionally, LPs and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have demonstrated a marked shift towards solo dealmaking from their earlier co-investing playbook. PE deal value stayed relatively robust with lower volumes. In theory, the CAIA covers Structured Products, but it also covers many other fields, and its not a great use of time vs. gaining real work experience. To learn more about, please click here to get my FREE 57-page investment banking recruiting guide - plus, get weekly updates so that you can break into investment banking, Direct Lending vs. We asked the CEO of Moonfare what it takes to get ordinary investors up to speed and investing in private equity with confidence. You could say, Between 8% and 9%, but slightly closer to 9% for the answer. Great article. The DCM team works with plain-vanilla debt in which the pricing and terms are based on the companys financial profile and credit rating. Indias outstanding credit has doubled since 2014 to reach $2 trillion, driven by increasing consumption (with a growing middle class), low credit penetration today, increasing openness to credit including for discretionary expenses, and digital adoption accelerating financial access. Two points should be clear from this simple example: Just ask anyone who invested in subprime mortgage-backed securities in 2006 about that last one. You may be able to find in-person classes or 1-on-1 providers that offer it, but the field is so specialized that no one has taken the plunge to create detailed online training yet. Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions and Breaking Into Wall Street. he was a credit analyst at gs and now works at a boutique ibank. Forgot or need to reset your password? The origination fee is 1%, and the prepayment fee is 2%, so the lender earns 3% extra over 5 years; 3% / 5 = slightly more than 0.5% since 3% / 6 is exactly 0.5%. what are some of the exit opps for someone in structured credit dealing mainly with leveraged loans to corporates (non sponsor backed)? India Private Equity Report 2023 | Bain & Company So, the approximate total compensation ranges are: The bonus starts at a relatively low percentage of base salary (10 50%), but rises to 100% by the mid-levels and potentially over 100% for MDs. The loan, which would . Restructuring Investment Banking | RX Advisory Services - Wall Street Prep ECM on its own is a good career - better hours than M&A obviously. And direct loans are secured and have floating interest rates, while mezzanine issuances are unsecured and have fixed rates. Your email address will not be published. A: The CPR is the Conditional Prepayment Rate, and it represents the annualized percentage of an existing loan pool that is expected to be prepaid. Effectively, a true sale ensures bankruptcy remoteness, which is a key credit enhancement that reduces the risk of structured notes. But at a smaller firm thats unattached to a large bank or PE firm, total compensation might be closer to $150K. Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are at the forefront of the growing opportunity and have expanded their market share from ~21% in 2014 to ~27% in 2022, focused on growing segments such as personal loans, consumer durables, and two/three-wheeler (2W/3W) finance. The problem with all these exit opportunities is that the modeling/deal skill set is very different because you rarely do corporation-level analysis in Structured Finance. From the description, it seems like the exit opportunities would be similar to the ones discussed here. More esoteric asset classes include alarm contracts, movie studios film franchise revenues, aircraft fleet leases, restaurant franchise fees, and even future music album sales. Expedita alias tempore unde quia aut molestiae eum et. Q: What does securitization mean, and why do companies do it? The DSCR can also be defined differently, but we often use (Free Cash Flow + Interest Expense) / (Interest Expense + Mandatory Principal Repayments). Most compensation surveys do not have much specific information on direct lending or differences in the different DL groups. Im currently a student looking at a prospective summer internship. Structured Finance-specific technical questions could come up, but theyre more likely if youve already had related work experience. articles a month for anyone to read, even non-subscribers! Countries coped with high inflationary . Looking for information on a pre-MBA associate role. Expedita beatae nesciunt sunt aperiam. Interview questions for DL roles can be summarized as: Take the mezzanine fund and corporate banking articles and make sure you know the interview questions listed there.. Excess spread is another credit enhancement, and it represents the difference between the interest and fees paid to the structured securitys buyers and the interest received by the securitys issuer. The year 2022 saw a global tempering of the peak activity witnessed in 2021, triggered by tightening monetary policies across American and European markets as economies emerged from a Covid-19-induced suppression in economic activity. These gaps were exacerbated by the mounting geopolitical tensions (Russia-Ukraine conflict, US-China decoupling), which led to trade sanctions and global shortages. Placement memos for structured products often include analysis and estimates based on these metrics as well: As a banker, the day-to-day job in Structured Finance is similar to what you might experience in other capital markets teams such as DCM or ECM. Deutsche Bank Targets Asia's Rich as Credit Suisse Clients Flee Career-wise, direct lending is better than DCM but not as good as LevFin.. Venture capital and growth equity continued to contribute significantly to deal volume with almost 90% of deals, albeit with reduced cheque sizes. You want companies with predictable, locked-in, recurring revenue, ones that can survive a downturn or industry decline, ones with low existing debt levels, and ones with low CapEx requirements and fixed expenses. All the people Ive spoken to their have been really nice and it seems like there is a great culture there. Focus is essential in lateral interviews and MBA recruiting, and it's also critical here. If you get a case study or modeling test, it will likely take this form: Please read this CIM or a few pages of information about this company, build a 3-statement or cash flow model, and make an investment recommendation about the potential Term Loan A/B or other loan issuance.. I'm in the same position. With robust and streamlined models emerging out of Covid, listed health providers have generated two to three times the returns of the Nifty index in recent years. But its still perceived as less modeling-intensive than LevFin or M&A or strong industry teams, and youll have fewer exit opportunities than in one of those. However, its not necessarily the best idea for the same reasons that private equity right out of undergrad may not be ideal: you limit your options and may not get meaningful work. It also appears that Real Estate / Infrastructure funds are a lot more common than structured credit funds. Also, you could easily receive standard accounting, valuation, and financial modeling questions because cash flow-based modeling is still a part of the job. Q: Whats the typical structure of a collateralized debt obligation (CDO)? Need an account? You would also gain access to more exit opportunities, so you could move around more easily if you decide its not for you. The boutique just started two months ago, and he knew the founder. The fit / behavioral questions and your story are the same anywhere, so were not going to repeat all of that information here. Hi Brian, thanks for the article. Looking back, Indias private equity industry has evolved significantly, with a broadened investor base that quadrupled from 200 to 800 active investors since early 2010s, diverse pools of capital, and acceleration in buyout capital for quality assets. This one is external because a separate financial institution, rather than the issuer or originator, provides the cushion via insurance. There are sometimes last-minute/weekend emergencies, but since it is more of a markets-based role, theyre less frequent here. In his spare time, he enjoys lifting weights, running, traveling, obsessively watching TV shows, and defeating Sauron.