annual report - Hypo Real Estate Holding AG

Public Sector and Infrastructure Finance Regional Commentary
vities. DEPFA's advisory, budget finance and infrastructure
finance teams are actively developing good
relationships with all key parties in the transaction process,
including the newly established State Development
Corporation (Vnesheconombank), as well as the
private sector consortia bidding for the PPP projects in
the country.
The growing influence of the State in the economy is
supported by the strategic decision of the Russian Federation
to manage the extraction and distribution of
its huge natural resources, as well as to launch several
state-sponsored programmes in areas such as agricultural
development, affordable housing and other
public infrastructure investment. This process will lead
to greater demand for financing from various government-related
institutions, utility companies and state
controlled banks, as well as greater and more transparent
state support for such entities, at both the level of
central federal authorities and regional authorities.
Therefore there are good opportunities for specialist
institutions like DEPFA to provide the requisite advisory
services and financing arrangements for this client
category.
Spain
Despite the financial turmoil and credit crunch experienced
in the last quarter of 2007 the Spanish public
sector in general, and the Spanish regions in particular,
were able to refinance maturing liabilities with only
slight increases in their margins. DEPFA won Lead
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Manager mandates for bond issues with Castilla La
Mancha, repeating the success of the previous year,
and the Region of Andalucía.
In relation to loans, DEPFA continued to be very active
in the financing of infrastructure projects such as hospitals
in the Region of Catalunya and the Instituto Catalan
de Finanzas, where DEPFA was in the winning
group for the second consecutive year. DEPFA was
particularly active in 2007 in the financing of regional
television companies including Baleares, Valencia and
Catalunya. Another recent trend which is positive for
DEPFA is the more frequent acceptance of the
Schuldschein loans format under German Law, not
only by regions but also by cities like Madrid.
DEPFA has also helped in the restructuring of municipal
loan portfolios such as that for the City of Jerez in
order to enhance not only the financial health of the
City but also the quality of the risk for its bank counterparties.
In this regard, DEPFA designed an innovative
financing structure with the involvement of the Region
of Andalucía and the City itself. In the PPP sector
DEPFA won the MLA mandate for the 390 million
Barbanza shadow-toll road in the Region of Galicia.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, DEPFA continues its development
in the long-term financing of local authorities and
the health sector, providing tailor-made structured
financing as well as derivatives. The Bank’s client base