Germany

Following the departure of Florian Eichert for Credit Suisse, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg has detailed how its credit research team will be handling covered bonds.

Three issuers launched euro covered bonds this (Wednesday) morning ahead of a public holiday in many parts of Germany tomorrow, with market conditions said to be better than yesterday, although still weak. Meanwhile, the US market could see its first new covered bond supply since mid-April.

Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank’s mortgage Pfandbriefe were yesterday (Wednesday) affirmed and removed from CreditWatch negative by Standard & Poor’s, but are on negative outlook.

UniCredit Bank launched a new, Eu500m Pfandbrief issue this (Thursday) morning, despite markets being preoccupied with understanding the implications of a ban on uncovered short-selling of euro-zone government bonds and on naked CDS imposed on German banks by BaFin. But covered bond issuers outside Germany remain put out by the unilateral German initiative.

Germany’s Federal Financing Supervisory Authority (BaFin) banned uncovered short-selling of euro-zone government bonds and their CDS by German banks as of midnight last night, raising fears that liquidity in covered bonds would be hit and a reopening of the benchmark market delayed.

Barclays Bank plans to issue registered covered bonds off its Eu35bn global covered bond programme, the UK bank announced today (Tuesday).

Deutsche Hypothekenbank yesterday (Monday) achieved its goal of reopening the covered bond market and, according to its leads, did so without having to pay for the privilege.

Deutsche Hypothekenbank this (Monday) morning reopened the covered bond market after more than three weeks without any sizeable issues. Market participants welcomed the deal, but suggested that it was not representative of the wider situation in the market.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday (Monday) upgraded WestLB Covered Bond Bank (CBB) from BBB+ to AA- and lifted its outlook from negative to stable, and changed the CreditWatch on the issuer’s covered bonds from negative to developing.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed at AAA the ratings of mortgage covered bonds issued by Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank under its new rating criteria.

Berlin-Hannoversche Hypothekenbank’s Jan Bettink is expected to take over as president of the Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp) in June when Henning Rasche is due to step down.

HSH Nordbank’s ship Pfandbriefe were downgraded by Moody’s from A1 to A2 yesterday (Wednesday) because the rating agency cut the issuer’s rating by one notch the day before.