Latest Smart ABS deal sends mixed price signals
Pricing may have gone up a touch in the asset-backed securities market, if Macquarie Group's latest Smart Trust issue is any guide.When Macquarie went to the market in January with a deal that had a very similar structure to that of its latest issue, Smart ABS Series 2013-2US Trust, pricing on the US$100 million A1 tranche, which had a weighted average life of 0.37 of a year, was 15 basis points below International Libor.In the latest deal, pricing on the US$142.5 million A1 tranche, which also has a weighted average life of 0.37 of a year, is 26 basis points over International Libor.The pricing movement of the other tranches went in different directions. The A2a, A2b, A3a and A3b tranches were all cheaper in the latest issue, but the A4a and A4b tranches, which both have a weighted average life of 3.49 years, were more expensive.