Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co. have joined a platform called Versana that aims to standardize the syndicated corporate loan market, according to a Tuesday news release.
- Versana raised $40 million of new equity capital from parties including the four new banks, as well as founding investors Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- “With the addition of our four new investors, we expect to have more than 75% of U.S. loan market deals on our platform in real-time,” CEO Cynthia E. Sachs said in the statement
- Versana formally launched its platform in December with the goal of streamlining the syndicated loan market, which has so little standardization that investors often get updates on their positions through a hodgepodge of emails, instant messages, phone calls, and even the occasional fax. The platform will digitally capture agent banks’ deal data on a real-time basis. Investors holding loans where the participating banks are administrative agents will be able to see positions on a fund-by-fund basis, historical cash flows, base rate contract details, and receive digitized event notices
Written by Paula Seligson for Bloomberg
