Covered Bonds

Standard & Poor’s has lowered the outlook on Bank of America NA’s rating from stable to negative, in line with a parallel action on Bank of America Corp that the rating agency said reflected increased uncertainty over government support.

Congressman Scott Garrett’s proposals for US covered bond legislation stand to increase the attractiveness of the asset class by removing uncertainties surrounding the treatment of covered bonds in the event of an issuer insolvency, said panellists speaking at a discussion hosted by Sidley Austin in New York on Monday. Garrett also gave some insights into his how his push is progressing.

Optimism that the nadir of the Greek crisis has passed helped Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat and Eurohypo launch successful benchmark covered bonds this (Wednesday) morning.

The triple-A ratings of ABN Amro covered bonds will not be affected by the demerger of the bank into two institutions, according to the main rating agencies.

Terra Boligkreditt has joined the list of issuers waiting to launch euro-denominated covered bonds, having announced a mandate for a European roadshow for next week.

Benchmark supply is expected to be thin on the ground this week, even though some institutions have concluded preparations for covered bond issuance. But while blackouts and an unpredictable sovereign market might stymie euro supply, bankers have not ruled out shorter dated issuance from core jurisdictions.

Moody’s highlighted in a report yesterday (Thursday) that downgrades to covered bond issuers’ ratings mean that fewer of them will be able to prevent cuts to their covered bond ratings by adding collateral to cover pools.

These charts and tables provide an overview of all benchmark covered bond issuance in January 2010, breaking down total supply by country and maturity, and comparing this month’s volumes with those of previous months and years.

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