Infonavit Caps Tough Year for Mexico RMBS

Mexican lender Infonavit has sold MXP2.16bn in 2030 UDI-denominated RMBS, its final transaction in a challenging year for mortgage-backed issuers. The deal was split into 2 equal tranches which amortize one after the other, pricing at 5.55% and 6.25%, respectively. The transaction was marketed openly but placed entirely with a single Mexican financial institution, Jose de Jesus Gomez, director of Infonavit’s RMBS program, tells LatinFinance, declining to name the buyer. “The most important thing we’ve done this year is show we can adapt our strategy to achieve our objectives,” he says. In November, Infonavit sold a MXP3.65bn private placement when markets were especially tough. Gomez says continued flexibility will be needed in 2009, though it is too soon to tell to what extent the markets could recover. Banamex, Deutsche Bank and HSBC managed this week’s transaction.