Covered Bonds

European Central Bank funding proved irresistible for lenders across the eurozone this week, with participation in the latest round of Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO III) reaching a record €1.31tr. The astonishing take-up will cement expectations for fewer deals and more buy-backs in the FIG market, as well as the return of the government bond carry trade, write Tyler Davies and Bill Thornhill.

DZ Hyp managed to attract a healthy order book for a €1bn eight year deal issued on Wednesday, a day before a more narrowly subscribed €1bn 10 year from UniCredit’s German subsidiary, HVB.

Caisse Française de Financement Local lost €700m of orders after pricing a €1bn 10 year covered bond flat to OATs on Tuesday. Axa Bank SFH offered a generous new issue concession a day later on a €500m 15 year that came well inside the French government curve.

Covered bonds issued by SR Boligkreditt and Vseobecna uverova banka (VUB) this week were well subscribed, reflecting the generous spreads they paid compared to deals by issuers from core Europe.

Deals issued on Thursday by SR Boligkreditt and UniCredit Germany (HVB) illustrated that investor demand is skewed to bonds that offer a pick-up, no matter how small.

Restructured German ship lender, Hamburg Commercial Bank, has announced a tender offer for covered bonds on Wednesday. At the same time, Berlin Hyp (BHH) announced that it had bought almost €300m Pfandbrief in a recent tender which it plans to refinance with a longer dated deal.

DZ Hyp managed to raise €1bn of eight year Pfandbrief funding flat to its curve on Wednesday. The deal contrasted with one from Axa Banque SFH, which paid a much larger premium for a €500m 15 year, possibly due to far higher French supply this year and confusion with Axa Banque Europe SCF, which has already entered the market four times this year.

Recent events have neatly illustrated the fickle state of market sentiment and suggest that a broad spectrum of borrowers in the corporate and bank finance markets should not waste time in getting their most difficult or important deals done while the window remains open.

Axa Banque SFH mandated leads on Tuesday for its first deal of the year, a €500m 15 year, while DZ Hyp has appointed leads for a benchmark eight year Pfandbrief.

Caisse Francaise De Financement Local (Caffil) lost €700m of orders after deciding to price its €1bn 10 year covered bond flat to OATs on Tuesday. But in contrast Vseobecna uverova banka (VUB) was able to price comfortably inside fair value largely because its deal offered a substantial pick-up to other covered bonds.

BBVA is expected to take advantage of recent changes to Pillar 2 requirements with a greater proportion of senior preferred issuance but it has a modest need for subordinated issuance. The Spanish national champion also plans to make use of its Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operation (TLTRO) allotment from the ECB, which has been substantially increased.

Caisse Francaise De Financement Local (Caffil) has mandated lead managers for its third covered bond this year and plans to open order books for a euro denominated 10 year transaction, the third from a French issuer since May.