Granular Bank Austria attracts central banks

Bank Austria has followed BPCE successfully raising €500m with a five year public sector backed covered bond that priced at the tight end of guidance on the back of an exceptionally granular book. The decision to price ahead of next week’s announcement on the purchase programme caught some bankers by surprise. But with significant central bank demand in the book, it is doubtful whether there would have been much to gain from postponing.