In this context, it was interesting to read a Reuters report last week of luxury car manufacturer BMW's plans to issue retail bonds in Asian markets, including Australia. BMW issues retail bonds in Europe and hopes to do the same here.BMW is a name that would attract a lot of retail investor interest. You can drive the car, buy the bonds and talk about it at your next dinner party.BMW went on to say that it is also considering a retail issue of asset-backed securities. Retail investors may not understand that when they buy BMW ABS, they are not buying the credit risk of BMW, they are buying the credit risk of the underlying leases etc., that have been written by BMW and that BMW is passing on to them.