Denmark

Investor appetite for covered bonds sold so far at Danish mortgage banks’ December auctions is as healthy as it has been in previous years, according to market participants, putting to rest fears that difficult market conditions would deter investors from participating in the auctions.

Anyone worried about deteriorating asset quality and the state of European mortgage markets would have felt their spirits lifting during the opening panel of the European Mortgage Federation’s sixth annual conference in Brussels yesterday (Thursday). Representatives from Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium painted a reassuring picture of the state of their country’s mortgage markets.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday (Wednesday) upgraded the ratings on the covered bonds of Nykredit Realkredit’s General Capital Centre from AA to AAA in light of a new rating approach. In addition, AAA ratings were assigned to all the other covered bonds issued by Nykredit and subsidiary Totalkredit.

The Danish Ministry of Economic & Business Affairs and the Danish Insurance Association today (Friday) announced a set of initiatives to support the Danish life insurance and pension sector, and Danish covered bonds.

A new Danish central securities depositary in Luxembourg has made it possible for Danish mortgage institutions to issue covered bonds that are expected to be eligible as collateral with the European Central Bank and therefore more attractive for investors. Realkredit Danmark is from today (Tuesday) following Nykredit in using the new option.

The Danish government and the Danish financial sector, represented by the Private Contingency Association, yesterday (Wednesday) announced a package to ensure financial stability in the country. The plan guarantees depositors’ and senior unsecured creditors’ claims against banks for two years, but covered bonds are explicitly excluded from the guarantee.

EuroWeek, in partnership with UniCredit, recently held a Nordic roundtable where major issuers discussed their experiences during the past year and how they have coped during the crisis.

In brief: George Soros calls for the introduction of covered bonds based on Denmark’s traditional balance principle in an article in the Financial Times today (Tuesday).

Deutsche Bank may have come first in the all benchmarks ranking for the first half of 2008, but it was by no means the strongest across all markets. Here The Cover reveals the top banks in each of the biggest sectors and examines where the leading banks’ weaknesses lie.

Danske Bank priced a new five year covered bond yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) backed by international mortgage collateral from its Cover Pool I. The deal was increased from the minimum target of benchmark size and enjoyed an untroubled bookbuilding process.

Danske Bank has opened the books on a new five year euro benchmark bond backed by international residential mortgage collateral from its innovative Cover Pool I this morning. Like NordLB’s new five year public Pfandbrief, it was bolstered by robust support from domestic investors.