Pre-migration untagged articles

Product margin and incomes is almost certainly to be one of the first victims of moves promised this week by major dealers to reduce risk and increase transparency in the over the counter derivatives market. The New York Federal Reserve Bank said it welcomed the wide-ranging commitments that had been made.

Securities regulators in New Hampshire in the US this week filed a ‘cease and desist’ order accusing UBS of misleading investors and not informing them of the risk on structured products. The case has caused concern in the structured note market, and market participants are now taking extra precautions.

Livin’ on the Edgware Road

A steepened Swiss franc yield curve allowed Rabobank and Eurofima to price tight deals at the long end this week.

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet kept the covered bond party in full swing when on Thursday he hit all the right notes in his announcement of details of the Eu60bn purchase programme first revealed on May 7.

Sales of commercial paper to the Bank of England’s Asset Purchase Facility totalled just £85m in the week ending June 4 2009, the Bank said. It is the lowest weekly total since the first week of May, and the sixth lowest total in the fund's 16-week history. It follows last week’s record high of £701m. The total held by the facility fell to £2.13bn from £2.293bn the previous week. The fund passed the three month mark last month and it dropped the three month maturity requirement in late April to allow purchases of CP with any maturity between one week and three months. It is only the second week that the facility’s holdings have fallen.

Swedbank Mortgage priced a Eu1.25bn five year jumbo last Friday (May 29) that was the first Swedish benchmark to hit the market since the European Central Bank announced its covered bond purchase programme and only the second this year.

Deutsche Bank priced its inaugural Pfandbrief on Tuesday, a Eu1bn seven year mortgage-backed jumbo, at 55bp over mid-swaps — easily the tightest level this year for a mortgage-backed benchmark.

The proportion of outstanding European commercial paper issued by banks closed substantially higher at the end of May compared with the previous month. The total amount of issuance from the sector also increased.

BNP Paribas priced its first public sector obligations foncières issue, a Eu1bn five year transaction, at the tight end of guidance on Tuesday, turning its deal around quickly after laying the foundations for the debut a few months ago.

Asset backed commercial paper market participants were upbeat at this week’s Global ABS conference in London citing healthy levels of new issuance in the market. But many believe investors still lack faith in the quality of assets.

Aktia Real Estate Mortgage Bank and Aareal Bank this week priced the first large, but non-jumbo public issues in the wave of supply that has hit the market since early May.