Euro

DG Hyp printed the second German Pfandbrief of this week on Thursday, proving the market is very much open to German borrowers. But the success of the deal does not guarantee an easy reception for Banco de Sabadell, the first peripheral name to mandate since Bank of Ireland on April 29.

Sparkasse KölnBonn broke the three week supply drought with its €500m seven year Pfandbrief on Wednesday. The deal was an undoubted success and bodes well for further issuance, but negative headline risk and the fear of volatility means issuers should take a cautious approach to pricing – as demonstrated in the senior unsecured market

The German issuer has mandated leads for a mortgage backed Pfandbrief with a nine year maturity which is expected to price on Thursday.

The covered bond market is open for business and Sparkasse KölnBonn has announced it will go ahead with a deal on Wednesday, the first euro benchmark in over three weeks. Though there is also a possibility that another core issuer could soon emerge, borrowers are in no rush as they fear that the generous new issue premium they may need to pay will re-price their curves.

DBRS has requested market participants to comment on its new covered bond rating methodology which takes account of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). In contrast to the other main agencies the proposed approach is refreshingly straightforward, transparent and easily explained.

The covered bonds of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) rallied by 20bp on Friday as speculation mounted that Fitch would not downgrade the bonds to sub-investment grade, as had been feared.

It will take a courageous issuer to re-open the euro benchmark covered bond market, despite notable improvements in rates and a reduction in volatility. Whoever comes will have to start the pricing process with a generous new issue concession and though many issuers are monitoring conditions, no one has pulled the trigger yet.

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The European Central Bank has expressed concern about extreme rates volatility. But until it stops buying and allows the private sector to become re-established, its true mission as liquidity provider of last resort will remain in conflict with its determination to expand its balance sheet.

The dollar market continued to sustain covered bonds on Wednesday as DNB mandated leads for a five year, a day after ANZ issued $1.25bn in the same tenor. The Australian bank got better execution than would have been achieved in euros and could have priced even tighter. The excellent result is testimony to the issuer’s long absence and to the depth of demand evident across the dollar fixed income market.

NordLB reopened its four year public sector backed Pfandbrief on Wednesday in a move which locks in cheap funding. But the 10bp yield offers little buffer in a market characterised by rate volatility.

The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive was supposed to be universally good for covered bonds because they are excluded from being bailed in. But on Wednesday and Thursday Moody’s and Fitch took opposing views on Allied Irish Banks due to the implementation of their methodologies that take account of the same new regime.