Europe

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (Pbb) returned to the public sector Pfandbrief market in style this week. It extended the German covered bond curve with an impressive 15 year deal and plans to issue at least one public sector backed bond a year, it told The Cover.

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Speaking to The Cover on Thursday, SEB’s head of treasury management John Wang emphasised the granularity of the book for the bank’s inaugural dollar trade that was launched on Tuesday.

WL Bank priced a €500m seven year Pfandbrief almost flat to mid-swaps on Thursday, to the surprise of some syndicate bankers on the deal.

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank launched the longest German Pfandbrief in nine years on Wednesday, pricing a €500m 15 year deal. The potential for more ultra-long dated deals is limited, but Pbb’s success in an unusual tenor illustrates just how flexible desperate investors have become, said bankers.

Rare issuer WL Bank has picked banks to manage its latest Pfandbrief and is aiming to launch a seven year euro denominated bond as early as Thursday, said bankers.

Participants in the G20 meeting in September will receive proposals to kick-start a special fund for budding infrastructure projects, according to the head of a special task force

Fitch has upgraded a series of Greek covered bonds, following the sovereign upgrade of the Hellenic Republic and of Greek banks. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s said covered bonds had recently shown rating stability despite the fragile environment.

Santander UK has announced a new deal from its Holmes master issuer RMBS shelf. The prospective deal is likely to offer a significant spread pick up compared to UK covered bonds. And Rabobank has privately placed RMBS issuance from its Obvion subsidiary.

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The covered bond market is open for almost any issuer and though its unlikely that activity will pick up quickly, there are a number of potential transactions expected in the coming weeks, bankers told The Cover on Monday.

The second upgrade to investment grade status for Turkey, although priced in, is still likely to give a lift to the country's stock market and to its bonds