Euro

Caja Madrid has played down buybacks of around Eu1.5bn of its cédulas hipotecarias that were referred to in a regulatory notice filed yesterday (Tuesday) with Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, Spain’s stock market regulator.

Market conditions are conducive to new covered bond issuance – even from peripheral jurisdictions – but with the holiday season in full swing issuers may not be in a position to take advantage of any opportunities, according to syndicate bankers.

Banques Populaires yesterday (Wednesday) priced a Eu340m increase to a 2.625% June 2015 covered bond at 50bp over mid-swaps, in line with guidance.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce took its covered bond funding in the US market this year to $4.25bn (Eu3.27bn/C$4.39bn) yesterday (Tuesday), increasing its two outstanding 144A issues by a combined $1bn. Meanwhile, French taps in euros continued with Banques Populaires Covered Bond.

The transfer of CajaSur’s assets and liabilities to Bilbao Bizcaya Kutxa will have a positive effect on the multi-cédulas exposed to CajaSur, and a neutral impact on those exposed to BBK, Fitch said today (Wednesday). The multi-cédulas are among 48 on Rating Watch Negative, which Fitch aims to resolve in the next two months.

The transparency of the methodology of the European stress tests and the disclosure of banks’ sovereign debt exposures they brought have been hailed as positive for the financial institutions bond markets, with Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria taking advantage of positive sentiment to launch a senior unsecured bond today (Wednesday) close to cédulas levels.

Spain’s Bankinter will today (Monday) add Eu400m to a Eu1bn cédulas hipotecarias issue first launched in March and will price the increase at a record high spread.

Toronto-Dominion launched a $2bn five year inaugural covered bond yesterday (Thursday), becoming the fifth Canadian bank to tap the dollar market with a covered bond this year. Compagnie de Financement Foncier today launched the fourth euro tap of the week, increasing its recent 15 year deal by Eu450m.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria yesterday (Monday) received Eu3.1bn of orders for a covered bond that was marketed at a level designed to ensure “certainty of execution”, according to bankers at the leads.

Criteria: league table includes credit for all fixed rate, public market, euro-denominated covered bonds of at least Eu500m and with at least three lead managers. *Change versus euro jumbos H1 2010 ranking.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria this (Monday) morning launched the first sizeable new cédulas issue in three months on the back of improved market sentiment for Spanish debt.