- Transaction increases capital efficiency and supports further business growth
- Volume of €2 billion, synthetically referencing a diversified core portfolio of European loans
Wiesbaden, 28 October 2025 – Aareal Bank has successfully completed its first Significant Risk Transfer (SRT) transaction, synthetically referencing a portfolio of performing European commercial real estate loans (CRE). With this transaction, Aareal Bank offered investors an opportunity to take exposure to a high-quality €2 billion CRE portfolio. The portfolio, equivalent to approximately 6 per cent of Aareal Bank’s overall CRE portfolio, represents a cross-section of Aareal Bank’s European loan book.
Aareal Bank’s CFO Andy Halford said: “The successful transaction strengthens our capital efficiency and supports our further growth. SRTs are a tried-and-tested tool of modern and efficient bank management, with investors assuming a portion of the credit risk, and receiving a risk premium in return. With this transaction, we are freeing up equity that we can invest in attractive new business opportunities.“
As credit risks under this SRT are transferred synthetically only, the contractual relationship between Aareal Bank and its borrowers will remain unaffected. The high sectoral and geographical diversification as well as the high credit quality of the SRT portfolio provided the basis for investors to conduct their due diligence, only using anonymised data. In the context of this type of CRE SRT transaction, such structure is rare and reflects the high degree of confidence investors have in Aareal Bank’s robust business model and strong performance.
Throughout the competitive bidding process, strong demand derived from asset managers and insurance companies resulted in an oversubscription of more than three times. Aareal Bank implemented the SRT through a simultaneous transaction of a financial guarantee from insurers and a credit-linked note with an asset manager.
Aareal Bank was advised on the transaction by Alvarez & Marsal and Clifford Chance.
Contacts for the media:
Christian Feldbrügge
Phone: +49 611 348 2280
Mobile: +49 171 8667919
christian.feldbruegge(at)aareal-bank.com
