Not so bullish

Spain

Securitisation has seen a swift fall from grace since August, with investors shunning new asset-backed paper amid worries over potential US subprime mortgage loan exposure and uncertainty over valuations. The lack of liquidity has had painful consequences for banks reliant on wholesale funding - a prime example is UK mortgage bank Northern Rock, which was forced to rely on a collateralised liquidity facility hastily put together by the Bank of England in September after it was unable to