France

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.

BNP Paribas priced its first public sector obligations foncières issue, a Eu1bn five year transaction, at the tight end of guidance yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, turning its deal around quickly after laying the foundations for the debut a few months ago.

BNP Paribas will this (Tuesday) afternoon price its first public sector obligations foncières issue, a Eu1bn five year deal, at the tight end of guidance. And another French obligations foncières issuer is said to be looking at this part of the curve.

Deutsche Bank has closed books on its debut Pfandbrief issue and will price the seven year issue at 55bp over mid-swaps, the tight end of guidance, while BNP Paribas also looks set to hit a relatively tight level on its first public sector obligations foncières.

The Dexia group took its benchmark covered bond funding since the start of last week to Eu2.5bn yesterday (Tuesday), when Dexia Kommunalbank priced a Eu1bn five year public sector Pfandbrief.

Banques Populaires on Tuesday visited the jumbo market for the third time, raising Eu1bn via a five year mortgage-backed benchmark. The issuer told The Cover that the deal demonstrates that it has access to investors on its own, and not only via Société de Financement de l’Economie Française (SFEF), the entity responsible for issuing debt on behalf of French banks.

Véronique Hugues, global head of long term funding at Dexia, told The Cover that the group was delighted to be back in the covered bond market, after Dexia Municipal Agency on Monday priced its first jumbo since being rescued in September.