SWEDEN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Albert Wållgren, Henrik Ossborn and Lionardo Ojeda, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
who may need to apply for additional licences), potentially further impacting on the market. Key Asset Types Trade receivables and supply-chain financing For large corporates, securitisation transactions have traditionally focused on trade receivables. However, there is an increasing trend towards more bespoke structures, such as complex sup - ply-chain financing securitisations and handset financing for telecommunications. Structured supply-chain financing, involving platform pro - viders such as Prime Revenue and Demica, is also common. In general, more of these kinds of transactions, particularly in regard to multi- jurisdictional programmes, have been observed. Unsecured consumer debt Unsecured consumer loans have become a sig - nificant part of the Swedish securitisation mar - ket, especially for non-banks. The growth has been driven by new players entering the mar - ket, including niche banks and fintech start-ups focused on technology. These players include: • P2P lending platforms; • credit card debt providers; • niche banks engaged in blanco lending; and • alternative consumer lenders. However, as referenced earlier in this article, it remains to be seen what effects the Consumer Credit Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2225 of the European Parliament) and stricter rules on consumer lenders in Sweden may have on this market. Residential mortgages Sweden has a large market for residential mort - gages, which has historically been dominated by major banks. Recently, new players (including niche banks and non-bank alternative lenders)
have entered the market, focusing on tech-driv - en and efficient operations. These new entrants have shown significant interest in the securiti - sation market and the market for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). However, non-bank alternative mortgage lenders have found more success in the market for alternative investment funds (AIFs) rather than RMBS/secu - ritisation, at least in terms of lending volumes. In November 2024, a government report was published proposing new rules relating to lev - erage limitations and amortisation requirements for residential mortgage loans. Instead of the maximum 85% leverage applicable today, 90% leverage would be allowed; amortisation would only be mandatory if leverage is above 50% and, in such case, by 1% of the debt amount per annum (compared to 2% above 70% leverage, which applies today). If this proposal is imple - mented, it will have an impact on the total vol - ume of the residential mortgage market. Other effects remain to be seen. SME loans There has been a significant increase in secu - ritisations of SME loans by Swedish originators in recent years. These originators are predomi - nantly alternative lenders and traditional bank challengers who use digital infrastructure and automated credit approval processes. This growth has been partly driven by technology and supported by the EU and Swedish government initiatives. As a result, SMEs (being particularly vulnerable to market disruptions) benefited from rescue programmes that boosted the securitisa - tion market for SME loans. NPL securitisations The market for non-performing loan (NPL) secu - ritisations has seen increased activity, although there is still some uncertainty regarding the valu -
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