Covered Bonds

A sharp fall in Bund yields and swap rates has heightened the search for better returns. Bankers have been quick to tout covered bonds that pay a spread above mid-swaps as the answer to rates investors' troubles.

Covered bond spreads have tightened a long way since the year began and, with risk aversion creeping up, it is likely that new issue premiums will rise too, particularly since some investors will be inclined to book profits.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) in Canada has increased covered bond issuance limits which should improve issuance flexibility among Canada’s smaller banks — leading to possible issuance from names like Equitable Bank among others.

SMBC has mandated leads for a roadshow with plans to issue its first dollar covered bond and the second in euros.

Covered bond deals issued on Tuesday by the Swedish Covered Bond Corp (SCBC) and UniCredit Bank Austria were priced tightly but the market proved softer than recent sessions and price sensitivity limited the Swedish bank’s size ambitions.

Bank of Queensland was able on Thursday to shave off the new issue premium for its new covered bond. It offered a juicy spread at a time when supply of high coupon deals in the asset class is threatened by the European Central Bank’s liquidity operations.

Nationwide Building Society priced the tightest UK covered bond this year on Wednesday and still managed to issue in a good size. The deal was well timed to take advantage of recent spread tightening with little hint of investor hesitation, even though Brexit concerns are set to mount.

Berlin Hyp (BHH) was able to price its first 10 year Pfandbrief flat to fair value reflecting the paucity of supply in this part of the curve. But even though the bonds were well subscribed, a little investor sensitivity was evident.

LBBW attracted good demand for a $750m three year Reg S Pfandbrief on Tuesday, enabling the issue to be priced in line with where 144A deals had been indicated in the secondary market. A day later Deutsche Pfandbriefbank issued another three year.

Spain has a limited amount of time to bring its Cédulas framework into line with the EU's Covered Bond Directive. A legal update is probably going to be less disruptive than a completely new law — but neither option is perfect.

Hot on the heels of its senior non-preferred last week, LBBW has mandated leads for a three year green Pfandbrief. The Korean Housing & Finance Corporation (KHFC) is also preparing issuance, after mandating leads for a roadshow with plans to issue a euro covered bond.

BPCE and Swedbank attracted good demand for their sizeable 12 and six year covered bonds on Monday. Although the bonds were priced tightly, initial order book momentum was slow. The Swedish issuer did particularly well in the context of money laundering charges.