LBBW

A pair of German sub-sovereigns had the primary public sector bond market to themselves this week, with each taking €500m at tight levels to their secondary curves.

The State of Lower Saxony was the sole borrower active in the primary public sector bond market on Thursday as it raised €500m with a 10 year at a negative yield. The deal ended up comfortably subscribed in spite of a slow start to the book-build.

The State of Lower Saxony mandated banks on Wednesday to run a 10 year euro benchmark on Thursday, as German states remain the only action in the public sector primary market.

KfW will lead the charge in the euro public sector bond market on Tuesday with a €3bn green bond that will match its biggest ever deal in the format. Eurofima and the State of Berlin are also preparing to bring bonds to the euro market.

Niedersachsen Invest GmbH, the financing vehicle 100% guaranteed by the State of Lower Saxony with a policy mission for the recapitalisation and long-term restructuring of NordLB, received a strong reception from investors for its debut bond on Monday.

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Philip Hertlein resigned from his job as head of SSA syndicate and origination at LBBW on Tuesday. In his absence, the team has been bolstered by Oliver Franke, who joins the bank from Crédit Agricole.

Syndicate bankers are scrambling to make sense of the covered bond market, where sentiment has been changeable in recent weeks. Amid volatility and small issuance windows, sustainable bonds have proven a safe strategy to ensure successful deals.

Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt did not need to offer any premium to investors to complete its debut sale of green covered bonds on Wednesday. The deal adds to a recent flurry of socially responsible investments, which are offering financial issuers very competitive terms.

Berlin Hyp left ‘a little bit on the table’ with its new green covered bond on Tuesday. The trade was followed by deal announcements from Kookmin Bank and Sparebank Vest Boligkreditt, both looking to issue in sustainable format.

NN Bank used a quiet market this week to launch the first deal from its new soft bullet covered bond programme. The inaugural deal carried an ‘attractive’ spread and was more than three times subscribed at final terms.

NN Bank unveiled plans on Monday to issue its first covered bond from its newly published soft-bullet programme. At the same time, Berlin Hyp has mandated lead managers for the sale of a new green covered bond.