Covered Bonds

Canadian banks are among the largest, most profitable and best rated in the world, but that does not grant them immunity from liquidity bottlenecks. A recent spree of deals — although in some ways a show of might — illustrated that even the most fortified of lenders can appear vulnerable.

A leading covered bond investor has reacted positively to a series of measures announced by Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ (OSFI) which have effectively provided stable access to emergency funding, including a temporary increase in the amount of covered bonds the country's banks can issue. The move comes after a heavy spell of supply that had sparked concerns that Canadian banks were struggling for cash.

The covered bond market’s reputation for a being a close knit community has served it well during this difficult period with members staying in close virtual contact as they self-isolate at home. On the whole, the experience has proved positive, though it’s clear that some have found it difficult to separate work from play.

Toronto Dominion Bank attracted a slightly larger order book for its three year dollar covered bond on Friday than Bank of Nova Scotia did for a similar deal issued on Wednesday. Both deals offered a considerable pick-up to where they would have been expected to be priced in euros, but the overall spread outlook remains a subject for hot debate. At the same time on Friday, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was set to issue a ‘blow out’ three year Swiss franc deal.

The coronavirus crisis has made it difficult for banks to know how much wholesale funding they will need in the coming years. But when a window opened in the primary market this week, issuers showed that they are still focused on trying to build up their levels of total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC), write Tyler Davies, David Freitas and Bill Thornhill.

Hesitant covered bond issuers, that had been waiting for the European Central Bank to commence buying under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (Pepp), may no longer have an excuse to wait and should return to the market soon — particularly since funding levels are cheap relative to senior unsecured, but also because wider spreads may reflect the deterioration in credit risk as opposed to liquidity risk.

Bank of Nova Scotia issued its first dollar covered bond benchmark since 2016 on Wednesday. The deal follows a series of retained Canadian dollar covered bonds that were pledged to the Bank of Canada after it recently broadened repo eligibility to include the asset class.

BPCE took advantage of the improvement in credit sentiment to issue a €1bn five year covered bond on Tuesday. The deal attracted a granular order book and was priced close to where it would have been expected to come in light of recent Canadian deals — 20bp above theoretical fair value.

In the absence of primary issuance, the European Central Bank has ramped up its covered bond purchasing in the secondary market. But, since it has yet to speed up buying under its newly set up Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), there are high hopes that liquidity will soon be restored.

European covered bond issuers are waiting for liquidity to normalise before printing new deals and will rely upon their access to emergency central bank liquidity lines instead, three funding officials told GlobalCapital. They are also contacting customers to better understand how their loan and deposit books are likely to change before deciding how their funding strategies should be revised.

The hunt for liquidity has driven covered bond spreads wider across the board with little fundamental differentiation between assets, investors told GlobalCapital on Monday. This move has thrown up opportunities to find value before liquidity is restored when the European Central Bank steps up its asset purchases.

Europe's bank funding officials are not certain how their borrowing plans are likely to change but seem agreed there is little point in hitting the primary market until serious liquidity returns, That has given Canada's banks the run of the place with this week with another deal emerging from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Friday.