Covered Bonds

DZ Hyp attracted an order book that was more than three times subscribed in 30 minutes for its 15-year Pfandbrief issued on Tuesday. Under normal circumstances, this would be astonishing, but in the context of central bank monetary policy, the hunt for yield and the paucity of supply in this part of the curve, the result was to be expected.

DZ Hyp has mandated lead managers for a rare 15 year benchmark Pfandbrief, which is expected to go very well in the context of the negative rate environment and scarcity of supply in this part of the curve. The transaction could well catalyse other issuers to bring 15 year deals of their own.

The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) probably offers more definitive protection for covered bond investors than the newly minted Covered Bond Directive, delegates at the 12th annual IMN covered bond conference in London heard last week.

The head of financial reporting and accounting at the European Commission, Didier Millerot, speaks to Ruth Beddows, managing director of GlobalCapital and Euromoney Conferences, about the Covered Bond Directive and third country equivalence.

Moody's has published a new issue report for the mortgage covered bond programme of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), assigning the bonds which are expected to be retained for central bank repo' purposes, a rating of Aa1.

The Covered Bond Directive provides a basis for harmonisation of the European covered bond market and sets a standard for other countries to follow suit. But following approval of the final text this week, market participants expect the new law will give member states plenty of leeway to interpret the rules.

Toronto–Dominion Bank’s (TD) €1.75bn five year covered bond, which was issued on Wednesday, was priced 13bp tighter than where it might have launched in January when five other Canadian borrowers entered the market with similar deals.

Despite higher than expected issuance so far this year, the covered bond market shows little sign of fatigue. Investors seem desperate to get hold of whatever comes their way, for fear of missing out.

The final text of the covered bond directive strikes a balance that provides the flexibility to introduce new assets while defending the product’s credit quality and avoiding potential market disruption.

Leeds Building Society showed genuine leadership on Tuesday with its first Sonia-linked covered bond, a deal that was priced tightly with a well subscribed order book. Its stance stood in contrast to UK Parliamentarians, who dithered on a series of indicative votes on alternative Brexit strategies that were held on Monday night.

The final text of the Covered Bond Directive offers the opportunity for issuers and regulators to secure covered bonds by a wider range of assets than currently permitted. Bankers said on Tuesday that the wording strikes a good balance that provides flexibility for innovation while also protecting the product’s credit quality.

Berlin Hyp has offered to buy its sole remaining public sector Pfandbrief, which is due to mature in May, after Moody’s withdrew the bond’s Aaa rating on Monday.