The previous wording of the definition of the legal term Refinancing Entity covered only those entities which refinanced themselves through the provision of Assets as consideration for receiving liquidity or remuneration in line with the market.

This wording has been changed as a result of the Act to clarify that entities transferring Assets to refinance the Beneficiary are also covered.

The clarification is aimed at enabling the grouping of Assets of lenders, who do not have licences to issue mortgage bonds, to refinance those assets through mortgage bonds.

Relevant transaction structures often provide for the transfer of loans from such lenders to a mortgage bank, where the purchase price for the loans is deferred and the Assets are not transferred to the mortgage bank but (directly) registered in the relevant Refinancing Register. In this context the exchange of the payment claims under the loans for the deferred payment claim under the relevant loan sale agreement are considered to constitute remuneration in line with the market.

To broaden the scope and practicability of Refinancing Registers, the group of Beneficiaries has been expanded so that Refinancing Registers can now be used in refinancing transactions involving credit institutions domiciled in a member state of the European Economic Area (Europäischer Wirtschaftsraum) (EEA) as well as the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) throughout Europe. Overall, the following entities are now covered :

On registration of the Assets in the Refinancing Register, both the Beneficiary and the Assets are now not only protected if the Refinancing Entity becomes insolvent, but also enjoy protection in respect of access of third party creditors to the Assets before the insolvency of the Refinancing Entity. These additional protections are: