Covered Bond Opinion

A grim secondary performance by Goldman Sachs’ debut sukuk has made it a soft target for anyone who holds that the Islamic market is not ready for such non-halal borrowers. But despite the performance, Goldman's sukuk will be remembered as the issuer which debunked the market purists' defences

Anyone playing down the chances of a repricing of Asian high yield bonds amid the upcoming flood of Chinese additional tier one capital (AT1) transactions will be in for a shock if a recent investor survey turns out to be true. And with expectations high that AT1s will be included in global indices, the problem cannot be overlooked.

When the G20 finalises the next round of bank capital requirements at its Brisbane meeting in November, few things are certain. But regulators are united in a push to keep whatever new loss-bearing liabilities out of the hands of retail investors – raising the question of who, if anyone, should be on the hook for bank failure.

Harmonising covered bond standards tends to make eyes glaze over. The myriad different regimes and labyrinth of technicalities involved, can seem baffling and trivial. But it would be a mistake to believe the project is an open-ended soft option that will never really happen.

With Chinese banks needing a recordbreaking amount of bank capital over the next few years and the first deal expected by the end of 2014, the scaremongers are out force. But as with so much to do with China, the reality is unlikely to be as bad as some would have us believe.

Last October Promsvyazbank signed a loan that its chief executive officer Artem Konstandian told GlobalCapital was the “easiest deal in our history”. A year on and the bank is back — but if it gets a loan away it could be the hardest financing Promsvyazbank will ever raise.

Last October Promsvyazbank signed a loan that its chief executive officer Artem Konstandian told GlobalCapital was the “easiest deal in our history”. A year on and the bank is back — but if it gets a loan away it could be the hardest financing Promsvyazbank will ever raise.

Münchener Hypothekenbank’s €300m ESG Pfandbrief will be remembered as one of the most important milestones in the development of the socially responsible investment (SRI) bond market.

The Targeted Long Term Refinancing Operation conducted on Thursday by the European Central Bank is not targeted and will do little to improve the expansion of European credit.

With just 96 shopping days left until Christmas and a sleepy market, the topic of some MTN desks’ conversation had already turned towards organising festive drinks earlier this week.