Americas

Münchener Hypothekenbank (MuHyp) will price its first benchmark dollar covered bond on Friday afternoon, launching the deal after receiving strong reverse enquiry from SSA and central bank buyers.

The uphill task facing G20 leaders was thrown into sharp relief this week as a brief market rally following the Greek election fizzled out

Despite long being lauded as one of the very few effective private sector solutions for wholesale mortgage funding, covered bonds are not quite so divorced from the state as they might seem. As the bank finance market evolves in Europe, is it possible that the implied state support seen in the most longstanding regime is, over time, replicated in other regimes?

The US will fail to tackle an exploding fiscal deficit this year, S&P president Douglas Peterson has told Emerging Markets, in a sharp reminder that the world’s biggest economy could face another downgrade within 18 months

A top IIF official slammed the implementation of new financial rules amid darkening economic data

Financiers expressed optimism in Manila that cash-rich western institutional investors would turn to Asian infrastructure investment to help balance their portfolios

Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs warned in an interview with Emerging Markets that developing Asia must bolster social spending or risk instability

Barclays took year to date dollar benchmark covered bond supply to $24bn with a hugely successful 144A/RegS $2bn five year trade. Panama’s Global Bank has also opened books on its inaugural dollar deal, though given the transaction’s unique structure it is likely to take longer than the typical covered issue.

Leading China expert Stephen Roach this week slammed US policy on China’s exchange rate, urging Washington to ‘re-focus’ its priorities or risk a protectionist backlash

The Canadian government has released details of domestic covered bond legislation that will ban issuers from using insured mortgages as collateral. Spreads of Canadian covered bonds issued under the new framework will be wider than those backed by insured mortgages, said analysts, and with just months to go until the ban comes into place, a last flurry of insured deals could hit the market.

Canadian issuers will no longer be able to use insured mortgages as collateral for covered bonds. Finance minister Jim Flaherty introduced a bill into the Canadian parliament on Thursday that will create a register for covered bond issuers. The bill will also prohibit the use of mortgages insured by private insurers or by the government backed Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC).

Norway’s Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt became the third European issuer to bring a five year dollar deal in the last two weeks, with all three deals offering the same spread. Also in North America, the Canadian government released its 2012 budget, though details of prospective covered bond legislation remain scarce.