S&P announced this week that over €10bn of loans backing European CMBS transactions that it rates could need refinancing next year (SCI 3 December). About €3bn of the €13bn of loans scheduled to mature in 2014 has been prepaid, with sizable question marks hanging over many of the transactions that are approaching maturity.

Although loan maturities will continue to come due, next year is expected to be relatively quiet in terms of maturing transactions. Particular attention will be paid to Opera Germany 2 and to the handful of deals maturing in 2015, but it is 2016 when the maturity wall really comes into play.

"The number of deals maturing in the near future is limited and those maturing in 2014 and 2015 will generally have the securitised loans worked out beforehand. Talisman 6 or Titan Europe 2006-3 are two to watch, as the special servicers might not have finalised the loan work-out before bond maturity," says Christian Aufsatz, securitisation strategist at Barclays Capital.

Originally published in Structured Credit Investor on 6 December 2013.