Raiffeisen Bank International And Mariner Investment Group Complete Innovative Synthetic Risk Transfer Of Commercial Real Estate Assets

VIENNA and NEW YORK, July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and Mariner Investment Group (Mariner), the global alternative investment manager, today announced the signing of an innovative synthetic risk transfer transaction related to a €705 million loan portfolio composed predominately of seasoned commercial real estate loans and select corporate loans located in Austria and Germany. The International Infrastructure Finance Company Fund, managed by Mariner, has agreed to purchase notes corresponding to the junior credit risk in the RBI portfolio. The transaction is designed to enable RBI to more efficiently manage its balance sheet, optimizing the bank's risk weights while also freeing up capital.

The transaction leads to a reduction in RBI's risk-weighted assets (RWA) of approximately € 340 million, thus strengthening the CET1 ratio by 4 basis points.

"The successful transaction is another step towards optimization of our balance sheet and strengthening of our equity. We aim to strengthen our equity position by at least 20 basis points per year through securitization," says Martin Grull, CFO of RBI.

"We are pleased to deepen our existing strategic partnership with RBI. The ROOF Real Estate transaction presents a unique opportunity to invest alongside one of Austria's leading real estate lending teams while also providing the bank with a custom-built tool to manage capital and RWAs around their loan book," said Andrew Hohns, Managing Director at Mariner and Lead Portfolio Manager for the International Infrastructure Finance Company Fund, the investor in the transaction.

"ROOF Real Estate represents an exciting step forward for Mariner, complementing our existing risk transfer programs for infrastructure loans with a high quality portfolio of prime commercial real estate loans. In this portfolio, we are attracted to many of the same underwriting themes: seasoned real asset exposure, well-structured loans, and a core lending franchise of the bank," said Bracebridge Young, Mariner's Chief Executive Officer.

For further information, please also visit www.rbinternational.com and www.marinerinvestment.com.

About Mariner Investment Group, LLC

Mariner Investment Group, LLC, is an SEC registered investment adviser that manages several direct and affiliated single and multi-strategy hedge funds, funds of funds and other alternative investments services.  Founded in 1992, Mariner and its associated advisers employ approximately 230 people in New York, Boston, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Philadelphia, Dallas, Harrison (NY), Rowayton (CT), and Summit (NJ).

Mariner's International Infrastructure Finance Company Fund, established in December 2013, aims to take leveraged exposure to loans, bonds, and other debt instruments associated with global infrastructure, energy, transportation, and other secured loan assets.  Target investments are designed to enable banks to manage their balance sheet in light of new financial regulations, providing them with risk-transfer tools that optimize and enhance their regulatory capital and funding requirements.

About RBI

Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 15 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the Group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in the fields of leasing, asset management, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

In total, around 54,500 employees service 14.8 million customers through approximately 2,850 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE.

RBI is a fully-consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB). RZB indirectly owns around 60.7 per cent of the shares, the remainder is in free float. RBI's shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group, and serves as the head office of the entire RZB Group, including RBI.

For Media Inquiries:

Mariner Investment Group, LLC contact:
David Press
Tel: (917) 721-7046
[email protected]

SOURCE Mariner Investment Group