Deal of the Year - Constant Proportion Debt Obligation, ABN AMRO

The Risk Awards 2007

Rarely does the release of a financial product cause such a stir. When ABN Amro unveiled a new deal called Surf and its underlying constant proportion debt obligation (CPDO) technology to investors last July, little could have prepared the Dutch bank for the barrage of criticism that was to follow.

In its first few months, Surf was blamed for a tightening of credit spreads that saw the iTraxx Europe reach record lows. Then came the regulators. Speaking at a conference organised