Artex Axcell Re (Series FE0001)

A new roughly US $4 million private catastrophe bond has been issued, Artex Axcell Re (Series FE0001), and the notes of the issuance are denominated in Japanese Yen, suggesting it covers catastrophe perils in that country and likely provides a capital markets backed source of reinsurance to an unknown Japanese sponsor.

The private cat bond, or cat bond lite, has been issued by the Artex Axcell Re (Bermuda) Limited transformer and cell facility, which is operated by Artex Risk Solutions and has been regularly used for transacting and issuance of private insurance-linked securities (ILS) arrangements, from collateralized reinsurance to private cat bonds.

Artex Axcell Re (Bermuda) Limited, under its ILS Note Program II, has issued JPY 600 million (roughly US $4 million) in Series FE0001 notes.

The private cat bond notes have a due date of April 28th 2025, so their coverage likely runs into that month, which aligns with some reinsurance arrangements for cedents in Japan.

We understand this private cat bond transaction may actually have been completed some time ago, but has only now come to light when the notes were listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) yesterday.

Given the denomination of the private cat bond notes being in Japanese Yen, we assume they will cover a Japanese peril, likely property catastrophe in nature, for an unknown Japanese sponsor or entity active there.

The JPY 600 million of private cat bond notes were privately placed with qualified institutional investors.