Euro

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten placed its inaugural social bond on Wednesday sharing the socially responsible investment (SRI) sector with a tap from the International Finance Corporation. The Dutch agency now wants more of the same.

The Asian debt market has had a slow but steady stream of deals since the Brexit vote on June 23, but Bank of China blasted the issuance window wide open on Tuesday with a $3bn five tranche, multi-currency transaction — the region’s largest international green bond. Max Bower reports.

Covered bonds saw a relative improvement in flows on Thursday, but with a limited supply outlook and continued central bank buying, a technical squeeze had begun to take hold. CIF Euromortgage performed well after regaining preferential regulatory treatment.

European ABS investors are set to get a rare slice of French RMBS, with GE Money Bank in France hitting the road with €2bn of French residential mortgages.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten sold its first social bond on Wednesday, using the more captive investor base for socially responsible investments (SRI) than the usual SSA buyer crowd to achieve a tighter price.

Asset encumbrance caused by covered bond issuance has increased over the past year, according to the European Banking Authority. However, there has not been much change in the overall level.

The ratings of non-UK covered bonds that are partly backed with UK assets will not be affected by the downgrade of the UK from AA+ to AA, said Fitch on Wednesday. However, if the UK does not enter the European Economic Area (EEA) some Pfandbriefe could be affected according to an earlier report from Moody’s.

Bank of China has printed Asia’s largest green bond in a $3bn deal split between dollar, euro and CNH tranches. The landmark trade attracted strong investor demand and gave a much needed fillip to the dim sum bond market.

A pair of European agencies tapped euro lines today in a recovering but still cautious SSA market.

Regulations governing maximum loan to value (LTV) ratios on mortgage lending imposed by Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority that take effect this month are positive, but they will have a limited impact on Finnish covered bonds.

Covered bonds opened wider, in line with a softening in credit markets, but quickly rebounded to being unchanged from Monday’s close, although Commerzbank’s latest deal has outperformed.

The European Central Bank’s rate of covered bond purchasing in June was little changed from May and close to the lowest this year.