Since the financial crisis, the aviation finance market has been through much change with the initial heavy reliance on export credit financing from US Export-Import Bank (Ex Im Bank) and the other export credit agencies (ECAs), the support of which was needed at the time to ensure that there was financing available for new aircraft deliveries, shifting more recently to a focus on the capital markets and commercial debt, in relation to the latter particularly from new entrant banks in the Asian market.

Lessors and strong credit airlines have been particularly active in the bond markets in the past year or so, taking full advantage of heavy investor demand which, together with increased liquidity and new entrants to the market, has been driving margins to near record-low levels whilst reducing the role of Ex Im Bank and the ECAs and putting pressure on traditional lenders.

Originally published in Financier Worldwide on April 7th, 2015.