Nordics

Moody’s assigned an A3 rating, on stable outlook, to Norway’s Sparebanken Sør yesterday (Thursday).

The first publicly announced covered bond mandate since the middle of July hit the screens today (Wednesday), with Norway’s Terra Boligkreditt announcing that it has hired banks to carry out investor meetings. And despite a lack of other public plans, syndicate bankers are eying next week for the resumption of new issue activity.

Standard & Poor’s has cleared at AAA, on stable outlook, mortgage covered bonds issued by Swedbank Mortgage and removed them from negative review.

Martti Porkka is stepping down as managing director of Aktia Real Estate Mortgage Bank in the autumn and will leave the Finnish covered bond issuer next year.

Moody’s yesterday (Monday) assigned a definitive rating of Aa3 to commercial mortgage-backed covered bonds issued by SpareBank 1 Næringskreditt.

Denmark’s adjustable rate mortgage market has won a stay of execution as a result of the Basel Committee delaying full implementation of the Net Stable Funding Ratio until 2018, and the committee’s willingness to change its position on matched funding of liabilities of less than one year.

Fitch yesterday (Thursday) rated Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt A- on stable outlook, citing the strong integration and support it could receive from its owner Sparebanken Vest in the event of need.

The composition of the cover pool backing mortgage Pfandbriefe issued by SEB AG is set to change significantly as a result of a sale of the bank’s German retail business to Banco Santander, but the issuer is committed to defending the covered bonds’ Aa1 Moody’s rating.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed at AAA mortgage-backed covered bonds issued from Danske Bank’s domestic cover pool and removed them from negative review following the application of its revised rating criteria.

Danske Bank yesterday (Wednesday) sold the first Nordic 12 year benchmark covered bond after heeding investor calls for a long maturity, a syndicate official at Danske told The Cover.

SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt priced a Eu1bn five year mortgage-backed covered bond yesterday (Wednesday), confident that it could reach the benchmark size despite coming amid heavy supply, the issuer told The Cover.