STRUCTURED FINANCE: The Pledge Edge

Top rated banks in Brazil and Peru have been actively raising funds by posting their future flows and Cemex, the troubled Mexican industrial, is rumored to have mortgaged its stake in Grupo Cementos Chihuahua in exchange for a fast disbursing, short-term loan from the Mexican government. As of mid-April, two energy companies were set to clinch a combined $340 million by pledging reserves as collateral, using what bankers say is a form of asset-based lending relatively novel to the region. Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian company with a high concentration of Colombian assets, is heard close to wrapping up a $250 million four-year club loan at Libor plus 550 basis points. BNP Paribas is leading the transaction secured by oil reserves, set to close by the end of the month. “It’s a structure that has been used a lot in Houston and Eastern Europe,...