It is rare to come across bankers celebrating when an asset class becomes boring. But that is just what several practitioners in the European securitisation market are doing. They hope 2004 will prove to be the market's dullest year yet.

It is not that volumes slowed last year. Far from it. According to the latest figures from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), issuance in the European asset-backed securities (ABS) market reached record levels in 2003, with close to €30bn ($37bn) in November bringing total supply in the first 11 months to €164bn, a 41% year-on-year increase.