Syndicates cut back ECB as it takes covered buying to primary

For the first time the European Central Bank waded into the primary market to buy covered bonds for its third purchase programme (CBPP3) this week, as eurozone issuers from the currency bloc’s core and periphery returned after a long hiatus. The central bank’s buying may not be so good for core issuers but the evidence so far suggests peripheral names who have been locked out are about to bask in its largesse.