The Italians have a peculiar take on securitisation. The technique developed differently there than in other countries. 'The reaction to the arrival of securitisation in Italy has been dominated by banks looking to sell non-performing loans,' says Sergio de Angeli, a professor at Milan's University Cattolica, who recently completed a study on the subject. 'Abroad, this type of securitisation is an exception, but in Italy it was thought by some that the only type of asset-backed sale worthwhile was for non-performing loans.'

Now, however, attention is beginning to move away from securitisation of non-performing assets to more attractive receivables, and Italian institutions are trying to shift their role from issuers to arrangers.