Finland

Finland’s OP Mortgage Bank shrugged off an appalling market backdrop to launch an exceptionally well received €1.25bn deal on Wednesday. Its first covered bond of 2012 provided solid proof of the covered market’s resilience to macro concerns and added weight to syndicate bankers’ arguments that issuers should take advantage of demand overhang.

Canadian issuers will no longer be able to use insured mortgages as collateral for covered bonds. Finance minister Jim Flaherty introduced a bill into the Canadian parliament on Thursday that will create a register for covered bond issuers. The bill will also prohibit the use of mortgages insured by private insurers or by the government backed Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC).

Nordea Kredit Realkreditaktieselskab (Nordea Kredit) announced an auction of three year Danish covered bonds on Thursday, a day after the Nordea Group’s Finnish arm launched its second jumbo covered bond of 2012.

Germany’s Helaba broke ranks with cautious covered bond issuers on Tuesday to launch the first euro benchmark trade for two weeks. The rare borrower found strong demand for a €1bn public sector backed transaction, and another deal out of core Europe is expected on Wednesday, said syndicate bankers.

Spread tightening has stalled after the first quarter rally, according to DZ analysts, who urged investors to reposition themselves in preparation for spread widening. But with many investors still on holiday, the secondary market has become easier to move with smaller tickets, and traders said it was too early to draw conclusions from an increase in selling.

Sovereign markets have started to stabilise but covered bonds have lagged this move and remain under pressure in the secondary market. The focus has been on Spain but dealers also reported weakness in French covered bonds. In the primary market, issuance hopes remain dim, though bankers think there may be room for a Swedish or Finnish deal.

The performance of cover pools has deteriorated, Crédit Agricole research has found after examining Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch’s data. But this is not because of worsening credit risk but rather because of market risk.

Covered bond supply was restricted to an impressive €850m tap from BPCE on Thursday, taking the number of long dated French transactions already this year to six.

ABN Amro and Credit Suisse maintained primary market momentum on Wednesday, adding another €2.25bn of supply. ABN Amro paid above initial price thoughts to ensure smooth execution of its 10 year, while Credit Suisse was able to price its five year inside UBS’s offering last week — making it the tightest five year euro print of the year.

Four covered bond issuers collectively raised over €5bn of new funding on Tuesday across two currencies and three tenors. Total issuance this week exceeds €8bn equivalent and on Wednesday a further two are lining up with euro benchmarks. This suggests borrowers will have raised at least €25bn equivalent this year by the close of play on Wednesday.

Having aimed for a maximum €2bn deal, Nordea Bank Finland ended up printing an even larger trade after its July 2017 drew €3bn of demand. The €2.25bn deal, increased off the back of ECB Covered Bond Purchase Programme participation, is the largest Nordic covered bond ever.

The covered bond primary market continues to enjoy good momentum, with as many as four issuers collectively raising the equivalent of around €5bn in the four to 12 year area across two currencies.