Finland

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.

A Eu1bn five year issue from OP Mortgage Bank was the most popular covered bond on offer yesterday (Monday), attracting Eu2bn of orders in less than half an hour.

The covered bond market had one of its busiest ever sessions this (Monday) morning, with four institutions making the most of an issuance window despite overall sentiment remaining fragile.

The primary covered bond market is expected to be very busy next week, with mandates for Münchener Hypothekenbank and OP Mortgage Bank announced this (Friday) morning said to be only the first of many due to emerge in the coming days. Meanwhile, France’s CM-CIC snuck out a deal today between a German public holiday yesterday and US non-farm payrolls today.

New Finnish covered bond legislation due in July could make indirect issuance an option for smaller institutions, according to market participants, and will do away with legal distinctions between mortgage-backed and public sector-backed issuance. (This follows up on an article from Monday.)

The introduction of a new Finnish covered bond law, expected for July, should not affect the issuance strategies of the country’s two issuers, but could result in at least one new institution entering the market.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its ratings of covered bonds issued by Deutsche Genossenschafts-Hypothekenbank and Finland's OP Mortgage Bank at AAA under its revised methodology.

SNS Bank opted for a Eu1bn size for a seven year covered bond launched yesterday (Wednesday) to ensure a good performance, said a syndicate official at one of its leads, although the size and quality of the order book would have allowed for a larger deal. Meanwhile, Aktia Real Estate Mortgage Bank hit the tight end of guidance but nevertheless paid a premium for the issue’s Eu500m size.

SNS Bank and Aktia Real Estate Mortgage Bank have been in the market today (Wednesday), building books for new covered bond issues after the pricing of benchmarks for Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland and Erste Bank yesterday (Tuesday).

SNS Bank has mandated lead managers for a new covered bond that is expected this week, and several other issuers are said to be candidates for issuance in the coming days.

Benchmark supply is expected to be thin on the ground this week, even though some institutions have concluded preparations for covered bond issuance. But while blackouts and an unpredictable sovereign market might stymie euro supply, bankers have not ruled out shorter dated issuance from core jurisdictions.

GCE Covered Bonds has closed the order books for a three year benchmark that will be priced at the tight end of revised guidance later today (Tuesday). Swedish Covered Bond Corporation could be the next issuer to follow, having announced a mandate for a five year deal.