Euro

Compagnie de Financement Foncier stood out from the crowd with a Eu600m 15 year obligations foncières issue yesterday (Tuesday), which the issuer told The Cover underlined its profile in the long end of the curve. Meanwhile, Crédit Agricole got a Eu1bn five year deal away amid a torrent of shorter dated supply.

New covered bonds launched by Danske Bank, Lloyds TSB and SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt met with modest demand today (Wednesday), although syndicate bankers highlighted high quality order books and sub-Eu1bn issue sizes in longer maturities as respectable achievements.

ABN Amro Bank yesterday (Monday) priced the biggest 10 year benchmark since September 2009, achieving the strong comeback that the issuer told The Cover it had been targeting. The deal comes ahead of its merger with Fortis Bank Nederland.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg yesterday (Monday) pursued its strategy of launching at least one benchmark covered bond a year, raising Eu1bn of funding at a cost that was comparable with spreads achievable via private placements, the issuer told The Cover.

Five new Eu500m plus covered bonds were announced in the past 24 hours after yesterday (Monday) morning’s two, despite market conditions proving worse than last week, when 12 hit the market. The deals announced today (Tuesday) are set to take euro jumbo issuance this year past Eu100bn.

ABN Amro Bank and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg this (Monday) morning followed through with new covered bonds announced last Friday, with a 10 year deal for the former representing the first Dutch benchmark since March.

Sweden’s SEB launched a benchmark covered bond yesterday (Thursday) to demonstrate its ability to access the market in uncertain times, the issuer told The Cover, despite having last year pre-funded a large amount of debt maturing this year and the beginning of next.

Covered bond issuance of Eu500m or greater deals this week is set to top Eu10bn today (Thursday), with SEB having launched the 12th such issue. Meanwhile, WestImmo launched the third Eu500m Pfandbrief of the week this morning.

Royal Bank of Scotland braved a volatile market to launch its first benchmark covered bond and the first UK deal for almost three months yesterday (Wednesday), and the issuer told The Cover that it was thrilled to have been able to debut successfully in such challenging conditions.

Issuers pricing transactions yesterday (Tuesday) adopted flexible approaches to timing and execution, and representatives of CIF Euromortgage and Eurohypo told The Cover that they were happy with the end results in light of market conditions.

Royal Bank of Scotland launched its first benchmark covered bond this (Wednesday) morning, a Eu1.25bn three year issue that market participants said had succeeded despite coming in a tough market and as the number of Eu500m or greater deals this week hit 10, totalling Eu9.2bn. Meanwhile, Aareal Bank and WL Bank added to the growing supply of sub-Eu1bn issues.

A 3.5% coupon attracted real money investors to a 10 year Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat issue yesterday (Monday), enabling the issuer to sell the equal largest covered bond in that maturity this year.