Austria

Austria’s Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark has mandated leads for its debut mortgage-backed covered bond, a no grow €500m issue that could be launched as early as Wednesday. However, it has yet to decide on maturity, perhaps waiting to see how well other deals are received before making a final call.

Covered bond issuers decided against bringing benchmark bonds on Friday despite a better backdrop, but there are several potential deals in the pipeline and stronger sentiment should encourage issuers looking to come next week, said bankers.

Austria’s Vorarlberger Landes-und Hypothekenbank (Vorarlberger Hypo) made its mortgage Pfandbrief debut on Tuesday, selling a tightly priced seven year bond and taking supply in that maturity to over €4bn in only a week.

Covered bond syndicate officials are predicting as many as five deals will be launched next week following a wave of successful core transactions.

Germany’s Münchener Hypothekenbank received €900m in orders for an eight year mortgage Pfandbrief on Wednesday, despite pricing it tighter than the Austrian sovereign’s 10 year issue on the same day.

Moody’s published a presale rating report for Vorarlberger Landes-und Hypothekenbank on Thursday ahead of a roadshow that is scheduled to take place next week. It suggests that the collateral is mediocre relative to its Austrian peers but research analysts point out that Hypo Vorarlberg has a solid business model and ownership structure.

Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank (Vorarlberger Hypobank) has picked banks to manage its first euro benchmark covered bond, which it plans to launch in mid-April, a funding official at the issuer told The Cover.

Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien made its debut in the Swiss franc market on Thursday, with a Sfr150m 1% November 2020 covered bond.

Austria’s Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft (Bawag) returned to the covered bond market for the first time in since 2010 on Tuesday, launching an inaugural mortgage backed benchmark.

Crédit Agricole and Austria’s Hypo Noe Gruppe Bank launched seven year public sector backed benchmarks on Monday, benefiting from strong domestic support amid an explosion of issuance across the capital markets.

Austria’s Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederoesterreich-Wien (RLB NW) sold its inaugural benchmark covered bond on Tuesday, building a four times oversubscribed book for a 10 year mortgage backed trade.

SSA and corporate markets were busy on Tuesday, keeping the primary covered bond quiet. But issuance should improve this week as investors filter back from holiday, said bankers, though they warned that as spreads have tightened a long way in a short time the market may widen after the initial flurry of deals.