Are Sovereign Bond-Backed Securities (‘SBBS’) a ‘self-standing’ proposal to address the sovereign bank nexus?

Briefing 13-09-2018

Further to the adoption by the Commission of a proposal for a Regulation on sovereign bond-backed securities (‘SBBS’) on 24 May 2018, this briefing outlines the main purposes of this “enabling regulatory framework” for the development of SBBS. SBBS have been presented by the Commission as a market-driven initiative. By removing regulatory obstacles that have hindered its development, this enabling framework would put SSBS to a market test. In that context, SBBS has been portrayed by Commission Vice President Dombrovskis at the May 2018 structural dialogue as “a proposal on its own”. This briefing focusses also on significant differences between the original ESRB proposal and the concept of SBBS, which no longer suggests institutional changes nor amendments to the existing regulatory treatment for sovereign debts. Absent such ‘flanking’ measures to SBBS, the question is raised as to whether SBBS as proposed by Commission would be met by sufficient demand.