Euro

SEB AG nipped into the market this (Wednesday) morning before tomorrow’s continental European holidays to launch a Eu1bn two year public sector Pfandbrief. Some Eu1.25bn of orders had been placed by the time the books were closed late this morning.

Banco de Sabadell’s leads were today (Wednesday) hoping that despite setting a new high of 53bp over mid-swaps, the Eu1.25bn two year jumbo could mark a turning point for the covered bond market, which has been subject to progressively wider primary market levels.

Berlin-Hannoversche Hypothekenbank (BHH) has priced the first Pfandbrief since Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank (DHB) had to be transferred to the Association of German Banks’ (BdB) guarantee fund on Monday of last week. As such the deal was a vote of confidence in Germany’s product, but pricing issues still remain.

Banco Sabadell is set to price the first cédulas hipotecarias jumbo for more than five months today (Tuesday), a Eu1.25bn two year issue, having attracted orders of more than Eu2.5bn. Investors breathed a sigh of relief as secondary spreads withstood the new issue, even if Sabadell’s peers were digesting the new levels being demanded for cédulas.

The books were this (Monday) morning opened on a Eu1bn two year public sector Pfandbrief for Berlin-Hannoversche Hypothekenbank, with the solid German investor base and short maturity helping the issuer to steal a march in a week that will be interrupted by public holidays. It is also the first new issue from Germany since Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank (DHB) had to be transferred to the Association of German Banks (BdB) guarantee fund on Monday of last week.

Portugal’s Millennium BCP’s new Eu1bn two year covered bond may have caused consternation when it was priced at 40bp over mid-swaps yesterday (Thursday), but the lead managers staunchly stuck by their guns to defend the level it came at, and some outside the deal were coming round to their point of view this (Friday) morning.

The pricing and extended bookbuilding on Banque Populaire group’s (BFBP) new Eu1bn three year covered bond surprised some market participants this week, who considered it aggressive, but a representative of the issuer told The Cover that he was pleased with the new deal and considered that it came at the right level.

La Caixa was able to size its three year puttable cédulas hipotecarias at Eu1.5bn this (Friday) morning, larger than any of the jumbo covered bonds that were launched this week.

Swedbank Mortgage is planning to launch its inaugural euro jumbo covered bond after a roadshow early next month. A funding official in Stockholm told The Cover that the issuer is likely to launch two benchmarks per year.

The Banque Populaire group (BFBP) priced its Eu1bn three year covered bond yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon at 25bp over mid-swaps, after a protracted bookbuilding process that began on Tuesday morning.

An innovative puttable three year cédulas hipotecarias for La Caixa was successfully generating interest from investors this (Thursday) morning, with more than Eu600m of orders placed in the first hour and a half of bookbuilding.

The books were this (Thursday) morning opened on Millennium BCP’s long awaited covered bond and rapidly filled. However, some market participants said that the exercise reminded them of Banco Espiríto Santo’s Eu1.25bn three year debut in January, which sparked a repricing of the secondary market.