Pagaya issuing $100 million in asset-backed securities

Israel Chemicals Q4 net profit falls, revenue up

Pagaya, a US-Israeli firm that uses machine learning and big data to manage institutional money, said on Wednesday that it is issuing and overseeing $100 million in actively managed asset-backed securities led by structuring agent Cantor Fitzgerald.

This brings Pagaya’s assets under management to $450m. since its founding in 2016. Its artificial intelligence (AI) analyses data to assess risk in financial instruments, identifies emerging asset classes and seeks to generate a stable return.

Pagaya will use its AI to select and buy individual loans, rather than the traditional method of securitising a pool of previously assembled asset-backed securities.

Pagaya is targeting close to $1 billion in assets under management by year-end, Gal Krubiner, co-founder and CEO of Pagaya, told Reuters. Customers include Israeli banks Hapoalim and Leumi, Citi, European banks and Israeli insurers.

It has raised $20m. from Viola Ventures, Oak, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank and Clal Insurance, among others, and raised $75m. in debt financing from Citi.

Meanwhile, Israel Chemicals (ICL) on Wednesday reported lower fourth-quarter net profit even as revenue increased, weighed down by higher financing and tax expenses.

The world’s sixth-largest producer of potash earned an adjusted net profit of $124m., which excludes divested businesses, compared with $135m. a year earlier.

Sales rose 4% to $1.41 billion but excluding the divestment of certain businesses, sales increased by 8%.