Why the Fruits of Capital Markets are Less Accessible in Civil Law Jurisdictions or How France and Germany Try to Benefit from Asset Securitization

This article investigates the not-so-obvious reasons for which the financial mechanism of asset securitization is so poorly relied on in such developed civil law jurisdictions as France and Germany. Analysis is focused on several constituent elements of this mechanism: a possibility to construct a special purpose vehicle and its features, including flexibility and bankruptcy remoteness of such vehicle, a possibility to sell or to provide as collateral receivables and issues pertinent to such transfer, such as the fate of collateral in case of secured receivables, requirement to notify debtor, etc. Conclusions also take account of the different approach of regulators and legislators to asset securitization in the two countries and the way this impacts the success of this mechanism in the respective jurisdictions