Germany

Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat and Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland launched Eu500m five year covered bonds this (Thursday) morning.

Standard & Poor’s removed 10 covered bond programmes from review after affirming their ratings at AAA on Friday, but downgraded five programmes and these remain on review. The actions were taken on the last day of a four month period by the end of which S&P said it aimed to have resolved all 98 ratings it placed on review in December after introducing a new methodology.

Helaba yesterday (Wednesday) priced a Eu1bn seven year public sector Pfandbrief issue flat to agencies after building an order book that was more than five times oversubscribed. The issuer told The Cover that its return was prompted by a convergence of spreads available in the international and domestic markets.

Helaba will today (Wednesday) price its first jumbo Pfandbrief in six years, a Eu1bn seven year issue that, in the words of one syndicate official, met with a “complete stampede” for paper. Meanwhile, Ibercaja priced a Eu500m five year deal and Intesa Sanpaolo is expected to make its debut shortly.

Moody's will not give any economic value to non-EEA assets outside Switzerland, the US and Japan in German cover pools, but will continue to give full value to Swiss collateral backing Austrian and German covered bonds, the rating agency said yesterday (Tuesday).

Dexia Municipal Agency built an order book in excess of Eu1.25bn for a five year obligations foncières issue this (Tuesday) morning, while demand for new Spanish supply was subdued. A German bank, meanwhile, is expected to firm up plans shortly that will make it the sixth issuer to tap the covered bond market this week.

Three issuers this (Monday) morning launched or tapped benchmark covered bonds in a market buoyed by an agreement over the weekend on terms of an emergency loans package for Greece. Meanwhile, Dexia Municipal Agency has mandated for a deal that could be launched tomorrow (Tuesday).

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.

A draft amendment to Germany’s covered bond legislation that was passed by the government last Wednesday has been welcomed by market participants because it clarifies the legal status of the cover pool and its administrator, thereby mitigating refinancing risks.

The German government yesterday (Wednesday) approved a draft amendment of the country’s Pfandbrief legislation that is due to come into effect at the end of October.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is today (Wednesday) in the covered bond market with the week’s ninth deal, after Deutsche Postbank earlier today priced a Eu1bn 10 year Pfandbrief that took supply of Eu500m-plus issues to Eu5.2bn over the first three days of the week. Meanwhile, Portugal’s Banco Santander Totta has announced plans to tap the market.

Standard & Poor’s yesterday (Tuesday) affirmed the AAA ratings of public sector covered bonds issued by Westdeutsche Immobilienbank and of mortgage covered bonds issued by Deutsche Postbank. WestImmo’s Pfandbriefe are on negative outlook as their rating benefits from the highest possible uplift from the issuer rating.