Financing infrastructure – International trends

Abstract

The infrastructure financing market has gone through a process of radical transformation starting from the mid-2000s. Different reasons – including a changed macroeconomic environment, more stringent regulations on financial intermediaries, and a modified appetite for long-term asset investments – have led to a reallocation of flows from the banking sector to the institutional investors sector. This article provides an overview of international trends in infrastructure finance. It proposes a map of the different investment channels that private investors can use to access the infrastructure investment on the equity and debt side, highlighting the historical evolution of these segments in the past few years. Recently designed financial structures, such as different forms of partnership between banks and institutional investors, securitisation models and debt/credit fund vehicles, are also taken into consideration. JEL classification: E2, G1, G11, G2, G3, H44, H54, H81 Keywords: infrastructure financing, long-term investment, institutional investors, public-private partnerships, bank institutional investors partnerships, syndicated loans, project bonds, securitisation, debt/credit fund vehicles, financial market regulation