Nordics

Nordic and Eastern European telecoms group Tele2 is planning to fund its acquisition of peer Com Hem with its first bond in euros, as borrowers return from earnings blackouts leading to more activity in the primary markets.

Swedish Covered Bond Corp (SCBC) had a tough time on Tuesday attracting a convincing order book for its fourth covered bond of the year, possibly reflecting difficult market conditions, its frequency of issuance and the tenor of its deal. In contrast, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa managed to quickly pull in demand for a shorter deal.

Investors were in defensive mode in the dollar market this week as they snapped up short dated trades and floating rate notes, with demand particularly heavy from central banks and official institutions. Bankers are hopeful that benchmark supply will return next week.

Public sector borrowers could bring dollar benchmarks next week ahead of the limited funding windows of November. Floating rate issuance was the main play in the sector this week, with Municipality Finance falling just short of full subscription as it brought the latest in the format on Thursday.

Rostin Behnam, a commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) flagged potential issues in the governance and risk management of clearing houses (CCPs) on Tuesday.

Kommuninvest has hit its lowest BondMarker score of the year so far with a trade that drew an average rating of 6.53 from voters. The $1bn November 2021 on October 2, the only benchmark priced in the week commencing October 1, scored particularly lowly for pricing, on 6.06.

Rating: Aaa/AAA

A global equity sell-off mid-week caused some jitters among bankers covering a live Kommunalbanken dollar deal on Wednesday, but the nervousness proved unfounded as the trade came through to acclaim. The deal was typical in a week where SSAs priced tight and with big books despite choppy wider markets.

Kommunalbanken showed “the resilience of the dollar SSA market” as it printed a $1.5bn October 2021 Reg S/144A benchmark around its secondary level amid global market volatility on Thursday, said SSA bankers away from the deal.

SSAs are enjoying strong conditions in dollars, with KfW and the Province of Ontario finding plentiful demand on Wednesday despite bringing deals that on-looking bankers said were “pretty much” in line with secondaries. Kommunalbanken will price a dollar benchmark on Thursday that leads said was following a similar pattern.

SR Boligkreditt issued a €750m seven year with a slim new issue concession showing that the primary covered bond market is still receptive, despite the rates market volatility seen earlier in the week.

A sharp sell-off in US Treasuries after the release of stronger than expected US economic data has changed the landscape for dollar issuance. Ten year benchmarks could be possible, although one product investors would normally welcome in a rising rate environment — floating rate notes — is unlikely to make a big comeback.