Samsung Life Insurance, Korea's biggest insurance company, which also has significant real estate and research and development businesses, will launch the country's first cross-border residential mortgage backed securitization RMBS later this year. The company requested proposals from three investment banks CSFB, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, and is expected to announce which has won the mandate shortly.
According to a source familiar with the deal, the transaction, which will securitize mortgage loans from Samsung's own portfolio, will be for at least $500 million.
The exact size of Samsung's mortgage portfolio is difficult to ascertain because the company does not include a breakdown of different loan types in its annual reports. However, its overall loan...