A new private catastrophe bond transaction has been completed, Resilience Re Ltd. (Series 15121A), the first transaction we’ve heard of to use the Resilience Re cat bond issuance platform that was launched in October 2014 by broker Willis.
The Resilience Re Ltd. platform was launched by Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), the catastrophe bond, insurance-linked securities (ILS), M&A and investment banking unit of global insurance and reinsurance broker Willis, to provide clients with another option to access the capital markets.
With the Resilience Re Ltd. cat bond platform, WCMA aims to make the issuance process more simple and seamlessly integrating with the reinsurance placement process. The platform also features streamlined processes and documentation, making life easier for smaller or first time cat bond sponsors.
On the 31st December 2015 a $57 million private catastrophe bond issue from Resilience Re was listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), sitting under a newly listed Resilience Re Ltd. ILS Note Program. This is the first private cat bond, or cat bond lite, issued through the Resilience Re platform that we have heard of.
The transaction features a $57 million ($56.99988m to be precise) tranche of Series 15121A (a naming convention we assume refers to the year 2015, month 12, deal 1, Class A) principal-at-risk notes, which were accepted for listing on the BSX on the 31st December 2015. The notes appear to have a risk period of one year, with maturity scheduled for the 9th January 2017.
Resilience Re was designed with property catastrophe risks in mind and while we can’t confirm, it is likely safe to assume that this $57 million Series 15121A issuance provides a cedent with reinsurance protection for certain catastrophe risk exposures.
It’s also likely safe to assume that this Resilience Re transaction is part of a reinsurance renewal. The Resilience Re platform was designed with reinsurance placements in mind, so that cedents could leverage the capital markets seamlessly alongside traditional placements.
The Resilience Re platform uses a syndicated deal marketing process, which can be used alongside the traditional reinsurance placement process or as a standalone way to access the capital markets.
With the $57 million of Resilience Re Ltd. (Series 15121A) notes now listed on the BSX and seemingly issued as 144A notes, the ILS investors backing the deal will benefit from secondary market liquidity should they want to trade them on.
Being issued through the Resilience Re platform means that Willis Capital Markets & Advisory will have played the joint roles of structuring agent and bookrunner for this private cat bond deal.
It’s important to note that this transaction is technically a 2015 catastrophe bond, so increases our numbers for the year slightly. However, as information only emerged on this transaction in 2016 it will not feature in our latest quarterly cat bond market report (which you can download here).
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