Spain

As leading issuers meet today (Wednesday) at the Euromoney Spanish Capital Markets Forum in Madrid, The Cover examines the dynamics that have frustrated the ambitions of the cédulas market in 2007, and what can be done to reposition the sector.

The launch of the first Spanish covered bond since before the summer got closer today (Tuesday) with the announcement that Barclays Capital, Commerzbank, LBBW and Natixis have been mandated for IM Cédulas 11, which will be a short dated benchmark issue and is due in mid-November. Crédit Mutuel-CIC of France has also mandated a new issue.

Fitch Ratings delivered an optimistic assessment of the performance of the leading Portugese banks in the first half of 2007. The report, published on Friday, expects the banks to maintain this strong performance despite recent difficult market conditions.

Luis Sánchez-Guerra, deputy general manager at Ahorro Corporación Financiera, has confirmed that a Eu2.95bn two year floating rate note launched off the AyT Cédulas Cajas Global programme yesterday (Thursday) has been retained for liquidity purposes.

A Eu2.95bn issue off the AyT Cédulas Cajas Global programme has been retained as repo collateral and not sold into the primary market.