Canada

French dough maker Cérélia has launched a €345m loan package for its acquisition of Canadian cookie and muffin maker English Bay Batter, joining UK nurseries firm Busy Bees in signing a roll-up acquisition.

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The heads of funding at DNB Boligkreditt and Royal Bank of Canada told delegates at this week’s IMN conference that investors are well protected from a potential fall in house prices. UK covered bonds are similarly resilient, said a director at Fitch Ratings. And even in a hard Brexit, the privileged position of covered bonds would be upheld by UK courts, said a partner at Clifford Chance.

The dollar market was on spectacular form on Wednesday, with a Canadian province pushing out a rare 10 year bond, a supranational smashing its size record and a $4bn five year from a German agency.

Public sector borrowers are lining up a three pronged attack on Wednesday in a dollar market that is enjoying its widest swap spreads of the year. Quebec is attempting the first 10 year dollar benchmark since the first week of the year, KfW is out in fives — a part of the curve that has also become attractive in euros — and the Inter-American Development Bank is coming at the short end.

CPPIB Capital is looking to step across the Atlantic into euros, selecting four banks to roadshow its euro debut. Elsewhere, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) sent out its first request for proposals for the second quarter.

First Quantum Minerals, a Canadian mining company with African operations in Zambia among other EM countries, has announced investor meetings for a combined tender offer and new issue this week.

Strict asset encumbrance limits imposed by regulators in Canada and Singapore could be increased, in a move that could improve covered bond supply from the two regions.

Toronto Dominion had less luck than its Canadian peers when it issued the third sterling Canadian covered bond of the year this week. Even though the transaction offered a hefty concession there was only sufficient demand to issue in half the size of the previous deals.

Toronto Dominion became the third Canadian bank to issue a sterling covered bond benchmark this year with a deal launched on Monday. Despite an attractive spread, the book was slow to build and the deal size looked set to be smaller than average.

The Province of Quebec is set to follow its neighbour Ontario into green bond issuance, opening books for the inaugural bond on Thursday.

The Province of Quebec is set to follow its neighbour Ontario into green bond issuance, after hiring banks to run a roadshow for a potential deal in its home currency.