Canada

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.

Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) could allow the country’s banks to issue more covered bonds. The supervisor will begin a consultation this year which may lead to a change of the 4% limit on covered bond issuance.

The Province of British Columbia (BC) has announced price guidance for its upcoming Panda bond, which is set to go live on Thursday.

The Province of British Columbia (BC) is set to price its debut Panda bond on Thursday, January 21. The up to Rmb3bn ($457m) three year offering is being marketed at a range of 2.6%-3.0%, several sources have told GlobalRMB.

Covered bonds issued this week from Lloyds and Bank of Nova Scotia were among the largest seen this year and attracted the biggest order books.

A pair of SSAs are set to bring dollar deals on Wednesday, despite worries over the health of the Chinese economy making life difficult for other issuers in the currency on Tuesday.

Lloyds issued the first sterling covered bond of the year and was quickly followed by two overseas issuers who priced deals at successively wider levels.

Eleven covered bonds were priced in the first week of 2016 despite the onset of European holidays and US non-farm payroll data.

Bank of Nova Scotia issued the third sterling three year floating rate note of the week, paying a slightly wider spread than Nordea and Lloyds. While this led to questions about the depth of the sterling market, bankers said the differential was justified and noted that the final funding outcome was attractive compared to alternative markets.