Covered Bonds

Anglo Irish Bank Corp Limited yesterday (Tuesday) launched a buyback offer aimed at all remaining outstanding external covered bonds launched under a UK programme, an operation that an official at the issuer described as a “clean-up exercise”.

Within the next week, Australia’s Treasurer will announce a banking reform package that some market participants believe could involve the government taking a closer look at the introduction of covered bonds in the country.

Martin Rohland is leaving Landesbank Baden-Württemberg to join Barclays Capital’s covered bond syndicate team, The Cover understands.

A covered bond legal framework could be in place in Cyprus by the end of the year, after the country’s government on Thursday approved draft legislation.

Wolfgang Groth has been appointed to the management board of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank as treasurer, with effect from January 1 2011, replacing Kai Wilhelm Franzmeyer.

John van Boxmeer will leave the treasury and balance sheet management department of TD Financial Bank Group at the end of January 2011. Meanwhile, independently of van Boxmeer’s move, a reorganisation of the department has put Craig Lowery in charge of all funding activities at TD, The Cover understands.

Benchmark covered bond issuance fell sharply in November, but was still enough to take supply in 2010 past 2007 levels, making this the second busiest year of the decade – based on euro jumbos and $1bn minimum issues. This and a first benchmark appearance from a New Zealand issuer can be seen in the following charts and tables.

These charts and tables provide an overview of covered bond issuance from January-November 2010, breaking down total supply by country, currency, and maturity, and comparing this month's and this year's volumes with those of previous months and years, respectively.

Fitch is reviewing its assessment of liquidity risk in covered bond programmes and the refinancing cost assumptions it applies for European mortgage cover assets, which could lead to higher overcollateralisation levels being needed to support a given rating, the rating agency said on Friday.

Barring a sharp deterioration of wider market conditions the covered bond market could this week be open to carefully weighed taps, said syndicate bankers this (Monday) morning.

Standard & Poor’s placed three Greek covered bond issuers and one Greek bank that is setting up a covered bond programme on negative review on Friday, following its placement of the Greek sovereign on CreditWatch negative the day before.