France

GE SCF won acceptance from European covered bond investors for its debut obligations foncières issue yesterday (Tuesday), pricing a Eu1bn five year deal at 105bp over mid-swaps.

In brief: The books were opened for GE SCF’s first obligations foncières issue this (Tuesday) morning and the leads have reported that the maximum Eu1bn deal size has been exceeded, although the pace of sales appears slower than on recent jumbos.

Deutsche Postbank is this (Friday) morning understood to have built a book for its debut jumbo public sector Pfandbrief that is believed to be by far the largest for a covered bond in more than a year and one of the biggest ever.

The US lineage of GE SCF and the quality of its cover pool are likely to be key to the success of its debut obligations foncières transaction, said several market participants as the issuer embarked on a roadshow and the rating agencies released pre-sale reports.

Société Générale on Friday sold its second jumbo of the year, a Eu1bn maximum seven year issue that was four times oversubscribed, enabling pricing inside the level at which the deal was originally marketed.

Société Générale SCF leveraged off attractive pricing and a Eu1bn maximum size to build a Eu4bn book for a seven year jumbo and fix pricing inside guidance this (Friday) morning. But the execution disappointed some investors, who likened it to practices in the corporate bond market.

Danske Bank priced its first benchmark covered bond in a year yesterday (Wednesday) after adding Swedish mortgages as collateral to its international cover pool and a day after selling $5bn (Eu3.56bn) of government-guaranteed paper.

Dexia Municipal Agency yesterday (Wednesday) priced a Eu2bn 15 year public sector obligations foncières, the longest dated jumbo to come to market since July 2007. The issuer told The Cover that with the funding it has raised so far it can now head into the summer break in a confident frame of mind, although it might be back in the autumn.

GE Money Bank France is preparing a roadshow that will start next week for a new obligations foncières programme backed by French home loans.

Dexia Municipal Agency adopted a cautious approach when launching the first 15 year covered bond benchmark since July 2007 [corrected from 1997] this (Wednesday) morning, but ended up with a comfortably oversubscribed order book and a deal much larger than its early minimum target.

CIF Euromortgage priced the biggest covered bond benchmark since the collapse of Lehman Brothers yesterday (Wednesday) on the back of the strongest show of support from foreign investors for a jumbo issued out of France or Germany this year. The issuer told The Cover that the deal was a positive sign not only for CIF Euromortgage, but also for the wider market.

CIF Euromortgage will today (Wednesday) price a Eu2bn five and a half year obligations foncières transaction, the biggest new issue to hit the market this year. And another French issuer this morning tapped an outstanding benchmark.