Covered Bonds

Banks with funding ambitions could be more tempted to consider covered bond issuance following a recent increase in execution risk for senior unsecured deal, bankers told GlobalCapital on Tuesday.

Bank Julius Baer, the operating company arm of the private Swiss bank, has mandated for its inaugural bond, marking the first time this name has issued at an opco level. At the same time, Pfandbriefzentrale raised Sfr926m ($990.6m) with a new three part covered bond.

In a move that is expected to bolster the market for green covered bonds, the final text of the European Commission’s draft Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities has been revised to accommodate current best practice and include buildings that rank nationally within the top 15% most energy-efficient.

A leaked letter from the European Parliament, seen by GlobalCapital, shows the Parliament has joined in the debate about the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which has been watered down to make life easier for institutional investors. The Parliament is calling for the rules to be strengthened, to help savers know which investments are green and ensure compliance does not become just a “tick box exercise”.

Eurozone banks recorded their second highest take up in the latest offering of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) this week. The region's lenders do not appear to be in a hurry to replace ECB financing with capital market issuance.

National Bank of Canada’s €500m seven year covered bond issued on Thursday, showed that a positive spread to mid-swaps has a greater impact on demand than a positive yield.

Mounting concerns over rising rates resulted in a fair degree of price sensitivity for a rare 20 year covered bond issued on Tuesday by Bawag, the Austrian lender. But with a little new issue premium, demand was still good.

Všeobecná úverova banka (VÚB) issued a €500m five year covered bond on Wednesday at the tightest spread for any issuer from Slovakia.

A debut green covered bond from OP Mortgage Bank, and a green Pfandbrief from Berlin Hyp, that were issued this week priced through mid-swaps and tighter than any other covered bonds issued so far this year, yet they still managed to attract broad and diversified demand.

OP Mortgage Bank’s green debut €750m 10 year covered bond was priced on Thursday in line with where a Pfandbrief might have been expected to come. At the same time, National Bank of Canada made a rare appearance with a €500m seven year that was priced well inside fair value.

Všeobecná úverova banka (VUB) issued a €500m five year covered bond on Wednesday at the tightest spread for any issuer from Slovakia. At the same time the Mortgage Society of Finland issued a sub-benchmark sized 10 year at close to fair value. The resounding outcomes for both deals partly reflected the generous spreads on offer. At the same time OP Mortgage Bank has announced plans to issue its debut green covered bond.

Covered bonds and RMBS secured on green mortgage collateral do not deliver issuers much of a saving over conventional issuance in those markets, but favourable regulatory initiatives stand to tip the balance towards an increase in green mortgage production. Secured issuance will be the best way to fund this activity — expect green RMBS and covered bond issuance to surge.