Norway

Six borrowers raised nearly €5bn in the covered bond market this week, once again surpassing supply expectations. The star attraction, notable for both its size and tenor, was a €1.5bn three year from the Norwegian issuer, Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt.

The Norwegian issuer surprised the markets with a rare three year on Wednesday. The deal was one of the largest issued in euros this year and attracted an exceptionally high quality order book, though the oversubscription ratio was less convincing.

Pakistan eyes life insurance IPO — SECP gives nod for unified stock exchange — BW Pacific sets sail for Oslo

Singapore-based BW Pacific has opened books for a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange, as the tanker company looks to raise as much as Nkr2.4bn ($283m) from its IPO.

Skandiabanken, the Norwegian online bank, narrowed the price range of its initial public offering on Tuesday, having achieved investor coverage at that level.

The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide a loan of up to €200m to Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator.

Covered bonds worth almost €7bn were issued this week but, by virtue of its size, oversubscription ratio and breadth of demand, Nationwide Building Society’s €1bn deal stood out.

The Norwegian covered bond borrower issued its second deal of the year on Wednesday. Though the final spread was on the generous side, and the book only just covered, the overall cost of funding was less than half what it paid in March.

Covered bonds issued this week by Nordea Finland and DNB Boligkreditt went surprisingly well as, despite being the largest ones on offer, they were the most highly oversubscribed and subsequently posted the best performance.

Germany

Swedbank and SR Boligkreditt defied tricky market conditions this week to respectively raise €1.25bn and €500m in five year covered bonds.

Norwegian lender, SR-Boligkreditt issued its first euro covered bond on Monday, a €500m five year. The transaction offered a tempting spread pick-up to where Sparebank Vest issued an identical transaction last week thereby ensuring a strong reception, despite challenging market conditions.