Covered Bonds

Bank of Montreal is seeking investor consent to switch from referencing Libor to Sonia on its sterling covered bond, following similar moves from other borrowers. Different calculation methods are emerging for the transition.

Issuance seized up across most markets last week with lower rated FIG and corporate deals staying clear of the primary market as many participants struggled with a combination of low subscriptions and tight spreads. Subscriptions remain deflated but concessions fell across the board as increased selectivity led to more focus on green/sustainable labels.

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) priced an €850m seven year covered bond on Tuesday in line with the bid side of Westpac New Zealand’s deal in the same size and tenor issued last week. Although the order book was thinly subscribed, lead managers deemed the quality of orders high.

Eika Boligkreditt and Oma Savings Bank found good demand for their covered bonds sold on Tuesday with small deal sizes, environmental appeal and European Central Bank providing a boost. Even so, syndicate bankers were not convinced the market was back to full health.

Fast money accounts have been selling eight and nine year European Union bonds in anticipation of supply this week. But since these buyers are not expected to get much of an allocation of the fresh bonds, traders predict a modest short squeeze.

Swedish Covered Bond Corporation’s (SCBC) benchmark eight year deal, syndicated on Monday, was slow to build and, even though the final spread looked fine, the process clearly showed that investors are reticent to buy deals at prevailing levels.

Eika Boligkreditt has mandated joint leads for a 10 year and its first green covered bond under its newly established green framework. At the same time, Bank of New Zealand plans a seven year benchmark and Finland's Oma Savings Bank intends to tap its outstanding six year deal.

Banks are asking whether funding conditions have reached a peak, as investors find more reason to balk at tight bond valuations. Deal arrangers argue markets will hold together, but the future could still hold higher new issue premiums and a more careful approach when it comes to trade selection.

The sovereign, supra and agency sector has seen better buying interest over the past week, but the long end continues to look more vulnerable ahead of the European Central Bank meeting and expected supply.

Aegon’s head of capital market solutions, Lein Pieter Cevaal, speaks to GlobalCapital about the bank’s recent experience with its debut 15 year soft bullet covered bond, a maturity that worked well for the borrower despite awkward market conditions.

The primary market for covered bond issuance is expected to improve in the five to 10 year part of the curve in the run up to next week’s European Central Bank meeting. Although Aegon Bank showed that the ultra-long long end is open, a more guarded approach is warranted, said bankers on Thursday.

Aegon Bank paid special attention to timing when pricing its first soft bullet covered bond, reflecting challenging market conditions, according to the bank's head of capital market solutions, Lein Pieter Cevaal.