The RMBS market in the Netherlands has long been a cornerstone of the wider European RMBS market, but it faces some stiff headwinds. House prices have fallen 20% from their peak, putting a growing number of mortgage borrowers into negative equity. The government’s efforts at reforming the housing market and reducing the Netherlands’ high LTV/mortgage tax deductibility model have only added to the sense of uncertainty, making turnover of new sales and origination of new mortgages sluggish. Despite all of this, RMBS performance remains very robust with short term and long term arrears barely rising over the past year. A bigger problem could be the lack of primary supply this year. Issuers from the Netherlands are very well funded and, as a result, have publicly issued only €4bn of new RMBS this year to date. When the absence of UK issuance this year is also factored in, there is a danger some investors might rethink their commitment to the RMBS asset class as a whole. In this roundtable, EuroWeek asked a selection of leading investors and issuers in RMBS from the Netherlands for their take on the macroeconomic picture, the shrinking volume of paper and the problems this might create for liquidity and investor appeal, and where potential spread volatility could arise in this sector.

Like many banks in Europe’s periphery, BBVA continues to be dogged by the region’s perennial political and financial crises. But it is also a global brand, with a huge presence in growth markets like Latin America. That strength allowed it to triumph in capital issuance this year, writes Will Caiger-Smith.

The restructured Spanish bank Cajamar, which has grown its capital base and cleaned up its balance sheet, had its recently issued covered bond downgraded to junk this year by Moody’s. The rating action, which could potentially affect many other issuers, did not take into account the bond’s safety both from a regulatory and structural point of view and, writes Bill Thornhill, was out of sync with the other agencies.

Commerzbank bought an investment bank two weeks before Lehman Brothers collapsed, and now counts the German government as a major shareholder. But despite its drawn-out recovery meaning less frequent visits, Commerzbank is now creating funding markets all of its own, writes Tom Porter.

The corporate sector is the big one as far as SRI is concerned. It’s where the most energy and climate-rated improvements can be made and where the most capital will be raised. Corporate leaders see sustainability as a value driver, and investors are beginning to agree. As Jon Hay reports, a wave of green bonds could help companies communicate their credentials to the market.

Established SRI bond issuers such as the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation have emphasised the importance of working with investors on the development of their green programmes, and credit investor feedback with helping them to evolve their issuance, reporting and communications strategy in this field. In this roundtable discussion EuroWeek brought together key SRI investors with borrowers and bankers to explore the issues affecting the buyer base.