Nordics

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken has avoided being knocked off course by adverse headlines and has priced a new Eu1bn five year benchmark covered bond at 17bp over mid-swaps this morning.

Sweden’s SEB this (Monday) morning opened the books on its new five year euro benchmark, with Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat (CRH) happy to hold fire on its deal while it waits for SEB to complete its new issue.

Nordea Hypotek priced its debut Swiss franc covered bond yesterday (Thursday), a Sfr200m deal via BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse to continue the revival of covered bonds in the Swiss market.

Terra Boligkreditt priced its first euro transaction yesterday (Thursday), its public non-jumbo deal adding a new dimension to the reopened covered bond market that was being cited as a reasonable option for even larger issuers.

Moody’s cut Alliance & Leicester’s long term credit rating from Aa3 to A1 yesterday (Wednesday), just days after the UK bank launched and retained the first issue from its covered bond programme. Meanwhile, Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank has laid out its position in light of Fitch’s rating action last Friday.

Norway’s Terra Boligkreditt is launching its first covered bond in euros, adding yet more Norwegian supply to the market. Sweden’s SEB has mandated banks for a new issue, but is expected to hold off until next week.

Iceland’s new covered bond legislation, which came into force last month and was made available in an unofficial English translation by the Icelandic Financial Services Association yesterday (Tuesday), makes provision for four different types of collateral, includes no special bank provision, and does not yet give a minimum overcollateralisation level.

Nordea Hypotek priced its Eu1.5bn three year new issue yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, with the leads declaring that the issuer could find encouragement in where it had priced against other recent mortgage backed deals.

Sweden’s Nordea Hypotek opened the books on a new Eu1.5bn three year deal this morning, with initial guidance of the 12bp over mid-swaps area. The price has been fixed at 11bp over mid-swaps after leads BNP Paribas, HSBC, Nordea and UniCredit received Eu2bn of orders.

Finland’s OP Mortgage Bank has joined the queue of issuers planning to tap the market, but is content to wait its turn rather than push to the front. Meanwhile an issuer further down the queue has moved to the back, another has denied it was ever lining up to issue, and a third is keeping its debut to itself.

DnB Nor has kept up the Norwegian theme to the week with a Sfr200m (Eu126m) eight year deal yesterday (Tuesday), making it the first foreign covered bond issuer to tap the Swiss franc market since the Swedish Covered Bond Corp on February 19.

Danske Bank yesterday (Monday) afternoon increased the size of its euro jumbo debut from Eu1bn to Eu1.25bn, in contrast to its decision earlier this year to eschew international issuance for more attractive domestic funding. German issuers are seen among the likely candidates to add further supply.