Nordics

Deutsche Bank may have come first in the all benchmarks ranking for the first half of 2008, but it was by no means the strongest across all markets. Here The Cover reveals the top banks in each of the biggest sectors and examines where the leading banks’ weaknesses lie.

In brief: Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank kicked off its plans for quarterly covered bond issuance last week, when its offering of pass-through structured bonds was closed to domestic investors.

Aktia has successfully gained the consent of noteholders to change the provisions of its covered bonds with respect to maturity and repurchases after it was granted extra flexibility by Moody’s in the way it runs its programme.

The covered bond market had a deflated feel to it this morning (Thursday) following the temporary postponement of the Swedish Covered Bond Corporation’s new issue. However, market participants refused to be derailed with leads suggesting the bond could return soon in slightly altered form if conditions change. Meanwhile, those outside the deal were unwilling to believe the primary market completely was closed.

Danske Bank priced a new five year covered bond yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) backed by international mortgage collateral from its Cover Pool I. The deal was increased from the minimum target of benchmark size and enjoyed an untroubled bookbuilding process.

After several hours of bookbuilding today, SCBC has pulled, at least temporarily, the short four year euro benchmark deal that it had expected to price later today. The leads blamed market volatility but the deal was also suffering as it came in a similar tenor to the recent Swedbank and DnB Nor new issues that had made heavy weather of bookbuilding.

Danske Bank has opened the books on a new five year euro benchmark bond backed by international residential mortgage collateral from its innovative Cover Pool I this morning. Like NordLB’s new five year public Pfandbrief, it was bolstered by robust support from domestic investors.

In brief: With the primary market still active, one Scandinavian issuer has joined the pipeline and a French borrower has completed its roadshow. Meanwhile a fellow Scandinavian issuer has added Namenspfandbriefe to its funding options.

Danske Bank was unfazed by volatility in the Swiss franc market this week and priced a Sfr275m (Eu169m) seven year covered bond on Wednesday, its debut in the currency. Meanwhile, Erste Europäische Pfandbrief- und Kommunalkreditbank priced what was an unusually short maturity.

Finland’s OP Mortgage Bank priced its new Eu1bn covered bond yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The issuer told The Cover it was pleased at the high level of demand for its annual euro benchmark.

Finland’s OP Mortgage Bank opened books on a new Eu1bn covered bond this (Tuesday) morning, hoping to use its shorter maturity to strike a different tenor from recent Nordic bonds that found the going tough in both the primary and secondary markets.