Securitisation Law — EU Framework

Concise notes on the European securitisation framework.

Short, precise summaries of the EU Securitisation Regulation, its core structures, the STS label and the ongoing policy debate on reviving the European securitisation market.

Core topics

Framework

The EU Securitisation Regulation

A single cross-sectoral rulebook since 2019 — scope, structure and the Level 2/3 architecture that keeps evolving.

Structure

Traditional Securitisation

True sale of receivables to a bankruptcy-remote SPV, financed through the issuance of asset-backed securities.

Structure

Synthetic Securitisation

Credit risk transfer through a protection agreement — the originator keeps the assets, but not the risk.

Structure

ABCP Programmes

Asset-backed commercial paper — short-term funding, receivables pools, and a bank sponsor providing liquidity.

Structure

NPE Securitisations

Non-performing exposures — the 2021 amendment and the framework for securitising distressed loan books.

Quality label

The STS Label

Simple, transparent and standardised — criteria, supervision and the regulatory capital privilege for qualifying deals.

Core obligation

Risk Retention

The 5% material net economic interest rule — who retains, how it is measured, and why it matters.

Core obligation

Transparency & Due Diligence

Mandatory disclosures by the originator and mirror-image due diligence duties of institutional investors.

Policy debate

Sustainable Securitisation

Green, social and ESG-linked securitisations — the evolving rules, taxonomy alignment and disclosure expectations.

Reform

Reform of the EU Framework

Commission proposal (June 2025), Council general approach, Parliament draft report and the road to trilogue in H2 2026.

Why these notes

The European Securitisation Regulation has been in force since 1 January 2019. Several Level 2 measures are still being drafted; consultations on further changes — notably around sustainable securitisation and the capital framework — are ongoing. These notes distil the core concepts and track the current policy debate in short, practice-oriented posts.

They are written as personal notes by Dr. Thomas Prüm. They are not legal advice and do not create an attorney-client relationship. For the full legal notice, see the Disclaimer.