Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. issued the first prime auto loan securitization of 2013, a $1 billion transaction expected to close Jan. 16. The lead underwriters are Citigroup, HSBC, and Societe Generale. 

The transaction consists of $237 million of class A-1 notes, $315 million of class A-2 notes, $306 million of class A-3 notes, and $142 million of class A-4 notes. It is backed by receivables from loans originated by NMAC on new and used Nissan and Infiniti cars and light-duty trucks.

A presale report issued by Fitch Ratings stated that going back to 2006, the majority of Nissan Auto ABS transactions have performed favorably, and those issued in late 2009 to 2011 have improved performance, displaying low loss rates on par with those seen pre-recession.  

As AutoFinanceNews.net reported yesterday, Santander Consumer USA kickstarted the year’s auto ABS issuance with a $1.25 billion transaction of its own.