Canada

Royal Bank of Canada demonstrated the health of the primary covered bond market on Friday when it priced a €1.5bn deal that offered a minimal new issue concession. And with only one week to go before the European Central Bank’s policy meeting, other issuers will be keen to join apoBank, which mandated leads for a deal.

Royal Bank of Canada reported a C$24m year-on-year decrease in profits from its capital markets division on Wednesday, as debt origination declined and the bank increased provisions against its oil and gas exposure.

TradeStation Group has sold the accounts of its IBFX/TradeStation Forex subsidiary to OANDA as IBFX looks to exit the forex dealer business.

Crude oil is Canada’s second largest export and its price collapse is forcing debt issuers to reconsider their plans, continuing a process they began last year.

The Province of Ontario has sold privately placed debt in euros for the first time, grabbing duration and attractive pricing with the trade, according to the issuer.

Export Development Canada — EDC

Toronto Dominion Bank opened books for the fourth three year floating rate sterling benchmark of the year and was set to price the deal at the widest spread of the year. Kreissparkasse Koeln has announced a sub-benchmark sized eight year Pfandbrief.

The Province of Ontario last Friday took advantage of a calm end to a volatile week, pricing its second green bond in Canadian dollars at the very tight end of guidance.

In this week’s round-up, Taiwan report rise in RMB deposits, investors hand back QFII quotas, JP Morgan Asset Management launches three MRF funds, calls for China to communicate better from Ben Bernanke and Christine Lagarde. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

British Columbia became the first issuer to sell a Panda with a sub-3% coupon on Thursday as its triple-A rating assured investors who were largely unfamiliar with the credit. The Canadian province is parking the proceeds offshore after failing to get tax waiver from China regulators, picking a new bank as the home for its deposit.

The Chinese Panda bond market has gone from strength to strength since its revival last September with the Province of British Columbia (BC) becoming the latest to issue, raising Rmb3bn ($456m) on Thursday. While plenty more sovereign and financial deals are being lined up, the future does not look bright for red chip companies. Carrie Hong and Rev Hui report.

The Province of Manitoba has returned to euros early in 2016, printing €45m of 25 year paper through Scotia Capital.