Canada

Canadian regulator Carolyn Rogers has been appointed as the next secretary general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, replacing William Coen.

Guarantor: Canada

The SSA euro market’s record start to the year shows no signs of slowing down, with bankers confident that the conditions which have helped draw record book after record book are here to stay. That backdrop helped Export Development Canada (EDC) to an excellent debut in the currency, as well as a very strong trade from the veteran European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Dollar swap spreads tightened dramatically in the middle of the week — with bankers at a loss to explain why — but the SSA sector was still “rock solid” in one syndicate head’s words, so the currency should be open for business next week. The only two dollar trades this week — a bond market return from CDP Financial and first deal of the year from Erste Abwicklungsanstalt — both went well.

Guarantor: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)

Export Development Canada made light work of its debut euro benchmark on Wednesday, with the deal heavily oversubscribed and printed 3bp tighter than price thoughts. While applauding the deal, some on-looking SSA bankers felt the level on offer might have been slightly generous — although they admitted that fair value is always fuzzy on an inaugural trade.

Export Development Canada mandated banks on Tuesday for its inaugural euro benchmark, despite the euro/dollar basis swap having moved against euro issuance since the start of year, according to bankers.

Canada’s Barrick Gold has launched an almost $18bn hostile swoop on rival Newmont on Monday, as the wave of consolidation in the gold sector reaches new heights.

Sparebanken 1 Boligkreditt’s (Spabol) 10 year has the highest covered bond mark of all deals issued by any bank outside the eurozone this year on GC BondMarker. SEB issued the highest scoring Swedish deal and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) issued the best ranking Canadian covered bond this year.

One of the biggest snowstorms to hit Ottawa in years could not stop Export Development Canada printing its largest ever deal this week, alongside a record three year book for the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a very healthy Bank of England (BoE) dollar deal.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) became the latest issuers to enjoy a strong euro market this week, and there is more supply to come.

KfW made a strong return to the Canadian dollar market on Thursday after 3.5 years away from the currency, as it tightened pricing on its comeback deal. The German agency came alongside a green bond in the currency from a Canadian province.