Middle East

Bankers are preparing the ground for the first Turkish covered bond with both Akbank and Garanti Bank preparing extensive investor roadshows. Batuhan Tufan, head of funding at Garanti Bank, told The Cover on Tuesday that he is confident supply will sell. However syndicate bankers question whether issuance will fit more closely with emerging market, or covered bond investor portfolios. In any case pricing is expected to be wide of the sovereign.

With Middle East countries becoming increasingly important trade partners for China, the Gulf region is rapidly assuming a central position in the investment ambitions of Chinese corporates. But the links go both ways, with MidEast companies also stepping up their operations in China. Chris Wright looks at the two regions' growing links.

Turkish banks finally look set to become a feature of the covered bond market this year as Akbank lines up its first euro-denominated benchmark. The bank still needs to finalise its cross currency swap arrangements, a funding official told The Cover, but a deal could emerge in a matter of weeks not months.

In this round up, China cross-border RMB trade settlement hits new historical record in March, Hong Kong sees a 31% increase in RMB clearing in the same month, the Moscow Exchange sees record RMB/RUB FX swaps turnover, CCB is launching new subsidiaries in five overseas markets, and RMB clearing officially launches in Malaysia and Qatar.

Moody's assigned a provisional rating to the Turkish Lira-denominated covered bonds of Akbank, raising hopes that the first such deal from the region will soon be seen.

Sekerbank is holding investor meetings for a covered bond which will be the bank’s first ever publicly syndicated deal targeted at investors in the private sector mainly in Europe. The deal takes advantage of the amended law which allows for greater use of derivatives in the cover pool.

The sixth offshore RMB clearing bank appointment of the year was unveiled on Tuesday, when the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced that it had picked Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Doha Branch as the renminbi clearing bank for Qatar. The move is the first such appointment in the Middle East and follows similar announcements this year in London, Frankfurt, Seoul, Paris and Luxembourg.

Despite the recent sell off in emerging market credits, investors remain interested in Turkish bank private placements, according to MTN dealers.

Turkey’s updated covered bond law is credit positive, Moody’s said on Monday, after the country’s Capital Market Board announced the changes last week. However, the timetable for the first Turkish euro denominated mortgage backed benchmark has been pushed back after the lira hit new lows.

The Turkish covered bond law will be updated any moment now, paving the way for the first publicly syndicated euro denominated, mortgage backed covered bond. VakıfBank, Işbank, Ziraat Bank, and Akbank are in the frame, but the odds-on favourite to bring the first benchmark sized deal is Garanti Bank, which may surface in the first quarter.

Vakifbank is yet to mandate banks for its next Eurobond deal, but is “working closely” with Unicredit and Natixis to bring what could be Turkey’s first ever mortgage-backed covered bond transaction, said a funding official at the borrower. Those banks have not been officially mandated for the covered bond.

Garanti Bank is still looking at the possibility of issuing mortgage backed covered bonds, although the market backdrop has soured since it started. The bank’s board has approved issuance of up to €1bn and a recent rise in spreads could help bring in new accounts, an official told EuroWeek Emerging Markets.