Covered Bonds

An undercapitalised bank in the crosshairs of a market rout can expect counterparties to demand higher margin calls, particularly when a lot of its assets are already encumbered, as is the case at many European banks. This is a problem of the European Central Bank’s making and one that only it can fix. Making covered bond repo haircuts more severe would be a good place to start.

The covered bond market bounced back from last week’s temporary supply indigestion on Monday, following strong deal outcomes for DZ Hyp and Société Générale, which issued the tightest French transaction of the year.

DZ Hyp is preparing to print its first covered bond of the year. The deal could be launched as soon as Monday, which would allow the German lender to get its business done ahead of an expected EU deal for the Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) programme.

Caffil plans to issue privately placed covered bonds from its social framework, which secures financing for French hospitals. The longer maturities on offer will diversify from those targeted in its benchmark deals and more closely match its loan liabilities, as well as fulfilling investor needs.

Swiss franc bond investors are pursuing high quality issues, with Münchener Hypothekenbank harnessing this demand to price a tap of its green preferred senior bond 12bp through fair value this week.

The covered bond market is set to experience one of the steepest declines in issuance on record this January. Yet, despite a poor start, bankers still expect a resurgence in the primary market, although extended lockdown restrictions are creating uncertainty.

A double-digit spread over mid-swaps is still possible in covered bonds from Poland, Slovakia and Dutch conditional pass-though deals, suggesting scope for performance is strongest in these markets, said bankers on Wednesday.

Sparebanken Sør Boligkreditt’s covered bond drew more demand than competing deals issued by Berlin Hyp and Royal Bank of Canada on Tuesday, thanks to its more generous spread, shorter duration and favourable liquidity treatment.

Levels of asset encumbrance increased sharply in the first half of 2020, the European Banking Authority said in a report this week. It warned that roughly half of the assets eligible as collateral for central bank funding schemes are now encumbered.

Royal Bank of Canada issued a tightly priced €1.25bn 10 year covered bond on Tuesday. While it only attracted just enough demand for it, the long tenor, investor diversification, cost of funding and deal size were positives for the borrower.

Korea’s KEB Hana Bank attracted a €2bn order book for its €500m debut covered bond on Tuesday, boosting hopes for an improvement in the secondary market performance of similar deals from South Korea that offer outsized spread pickups.

Even though technical factors are highly supportive for covered bonds, traders say they are unwilling to lift offers, reflecting increased anxiety about limited performance potential and an underlying concern that credit market sentiment is less sure-footed that at the start of this year.