Pro-ject finance debt just got sexy. institu- tional investors will soon start ordering bulk credit reviews of dozens of infrastructure loans held by European lenders, predicts Arthur Simonson, head of project finance for the Americas at Standard & Poor's. "We may see one bundle of 70 assets, with multiple buyers and one review by S&P," says Simonson, who is based in New York. Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions didn't used to care much for infrastructure loans, which back everything from transportation projects to utilities. No wonder: Despite their promise of regular payouts over the long haul, these loans traditionally combined tight spreads with risks unfamiliar to institutional investors.
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