Covered Bonds

Pfandbriefbank Schweizerischer Hypothekarinstitute increased its 3.375% October 2022 bond by Sfr290m on Friday afternoon.

The Irish government last (Thursday) night nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, after its share price had fallen sharply in recent days amid deposit withdrawals. The bank was one of three Irish covered bond issuers to be downgraded by Fitch earlier yesterday, while another’s rating was placed on negative review.

Erste Bank will this (Friday) afternoon price the first Austrian guaranteed bank deal, two days after agreeing a debt issuance programme with the country’s Finance Ministry. Meanwhile a new, unique government-backed name could emerge next week.

EuroWeek, in partnership with DZ Bank, recently held a roundtable where representatives from German bank and corporate issuers and financial intermediaries detailed the key features of Germany's government guarantee scheme, managed by the financial markets stabilisation fund, SoFFin. The roundtable participants discussed expected levels, and sources, of guaranteed bank paper in 2009 and how the new asset class is expected to affect the funding strategies of domestic and international SSA borrowers in Germany.

CIF Euromortgage followed up its Eu230m tap on Tuesday with a Eu310m increase to its Eu1.1bn 4% October 2016 obligations foncières yesterday (Wednesday) to satisfy demand for longer dated paper.

Bayerische Landesbank and Danske Bank have priced their first government-backed senior unsecured issues on the back of larger order books and the next deals from Germany and Denmark are said to have been mandated for launch soon.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday (Wednesday) downgraded Lloyds TSB Bank from AA to AA-. It affirmed the AA- and A+ rating of Bank of Scotland and HBOS, respectively, but gave them a negative outlook.

Moody’s today (Thursday) downgraded SNS Bank’s rating from A1 to A2 and changed the outlook from negative to stable.

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society has executed what is thought to be the first issue off a Eu7bn covered bond programme, a £510m (Eu565m) December 2012 floating rate note. [updated]

The German parliamentary Finance Committee is due to consult on the draft law on “the further development of Pfandbrief legislation” in Berlin next Wednesday. The planned amendment to the Pfandbrief Act includes new developments in several areas.

Danske Bank launched the first government-guaranteed deal for a Danish bank this (Wednesday) morning. Bayerische Landesbank opened books on a SoFFin-backed deal, while unguaranteed senior supply has reached new areas.

Standard & Poor’s today (Wednesday) placed the ratings of Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Banco Santander Totta on CreditWatch with negative implications after taking the same action on Portugal’s rating.