The Association of German Mortgage Banks (Pfandbrief)

The German Pfandbrief traces its roots back to 1769, when Frederick the Great introduced collateralized loans, similar to mortgages, to ease the credit shortage for the nobility. Today, with more than $1 trillion in assets, the Pfandbrief market is Europe’s largest bond market.

Nevertheless there was considerable room for improvement in U.S. awareness of this unique asset class, which the Financial Times once described as “very large and usually extremely dull.

Makovsky's strategy? Seize breaking news and make Pfandbrief a central player.

In October 2006, Washington Mutual launched a €20 billion program with an initial offering of a €4 billion issuance. We undertook a 10-day media blitz that converted the WaMu story into a showcase for the Pfandbrief by highlighting the fact that this was the first time, ever, that a U.S. bank had issued a euro-denominated covered bond for international fixed-income investors.