Nordics

Van Lanschot Bankiers is expected to open books on Tuesday for its inaugural conditional pass through covered bond. The first Norwegian deal of the year could be announced soon. Meanwhile Berlin Hyp is on the road with its Green covered bond.

Länsförsäkringar Hypotek priced a €500m no-grow seven year covered bond with a roughly 2bp new issue premium on Thursday. This was the second covered bond not eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme (CBPP3) issued this week following a deal from Abbey. The spread pick-up relative to CBPP3 eligible deals attracted a decent book and the maturity played to asset managers and central banks alike.

A pickup in primary market activity continued apace on Wednesday when Stadshypotek sold the sixth dollar denominated covered bond in the US this year.

Swedbank became the seventh issuer to price a sterling three year covered bond FRN this year, launching a £500m deal on Wednesday. This is the third transaction from an overseas covered bond issuer in sterling and shows the attractiveness of the basis swap, particularly after the surprise reate cut in Sweden.

Aktia Bank Finland priced its Aaa-rated €500m no-grow deal on Tuesday, in what can only be described as a straightforward well prepared transparent process. In contrast, Banco Popular Espanol came to market with a less prepared €1bn, Baa1-rated offering in an over supplied part of the curve, just as peripheral sovereign volatility spiked higher. Nevertheless, with an attractive concession, the Spanish issuer got a fair result.

The euro/dollar exchange rate’s correction following last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting provided an ideal opportunity for LBBW to tap its March 2018, Reg S dollar benchmark on Monday. In the meantime, Aktia Bank announced plans to open books on Tuesday for a €500m seven year, which is expected to benefit from Moody’s recent change in its rating methodology.

Aktia Bank has a strong liquidity position, good asset quality and solid capital ratios, but as one of Finland’s smaller banks it has a low market share and as such, faces a fiercely competitive environment, said analysts at LBBW research on Friday.

The Swedish FSA’s proposals, requiring borrowers to pay down their mortgages to a loan to value of 50%, is credit positive for covered bonds, said analysts at Danske Bank research on Friday. The proposals, which were published on Wednesday, should lead to a decline in household indebtedness and should dampen house prices.

Nordea Finland attracted almost equal interest for both tranches of its 5.25 year and 12 year covered bond that was priced with barely any new issue premium on Tuesday. This symmetry to demand defied convention and illustrated strong comfort in the credit which enabled investors to reach for yield with a high degree of confidence.

Swedbank and HSBC both issued €1bn euro-denominated seven year covered bonds on Wednesday. The slim pricing differential between the two transactions neatly illustrated that covered bonds not eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchasing programme have caught up with those that are.

The Finnish issuer has mandated leads for a roadshow that starts on March 16.

Swedbank is expected to open books for a benchmark seven year covered bond on Wednesday having mandated joint leads BNP Paribas, Danske Bank, LBBW, Swedbank and UBS on Tuesday.