The paralysis besetting the European structured finance market has forced new issue volumes in the first few months of the year back to where they were at the beginning of the decade, a retrenchment that is in itself “shocking by any measure,” according to analysts.

In a report from Deutsche Bank, Ganesh Rajendra, head of European securitisation research in London, said the sale of securitised products, which include mortgage and other asset-backed securities, totalled a mere €16bn ($24.3bn) in January and February – down from €65bn in the same period last year.