Sweden

Guarantor: Swedish local government members

Landshypotek Bank was able to close the price gap to its larger Swedish peers on Wednesday when it issued its first green covered bond.

Kommuninvest printed a $1bn three year dollar bond on Wednesday, following the example set by Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) but shaving an extra few basis points from its spread.

Climbing US Treasury yields and tightening swap spreads are pushing out levels in dollars, but Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) managed a successful three year trade — a good omen for an upcoming deal from Kommuninvest on Wednesday.

Swedish Export Credit Corporation will bring a three week dearth of SSA dollar benchmark issuance to an end on Tuesday after mandating for a three year issue. A shift in Libor rates, swap spreads and secondary levels since the last glut of dollar supply should all make for a keenly watched trade, said bankers.

Two Scandinavian technology IPOs are gaining traction among investors after launching last week.

A sale of shares in SSAB, the Nordic steel producer, by Industrivärden attracted heavy demand from investors bullish towards the sector after Chinese production cuts caused a rally in the price of steel.

Caja Rural de Navarra (CRN) mandated leads on Tuesday for a €500m seven year sustainable covered bond which is likely be launched on Wednesday. At the same time, Landshypotek Bank AB mandated leads for a roadshow to present its green framework ahead of a five year Swedish krona covered bond benchmark.

The investment grade corporate euro bond market had shown a steady return to strength after Easter, but Thursday's five-deal spree tested its resolve . The market last saw that many deals on March 15 – a day described by one syndicate banker as a repricing point.

Vehicle makers and their finance arms continued their recent dominance of Europe’s investment grade corporate bond market. Renault, Volkswagen-owned Scania and Peugeot’s joint venture with Santander, PSA Banque, all priced deals on the same day this week, after three issues from their German peers in the previous seven days.

Covered bonds issued by Swedish Covered Bond Corp and Overseas Chinese Banking Corp on Wednesday were thinly oversubscribed though investor preference was clearly slanted towards the most defensive five year Swedish offering.

This week has not looked like anyone’s ideal opportunity for issuing corporate bonds in Europe, especially a challenging debut hybrid with a speculative grade rating. But Akelius, the Swedish housing company, saw a chance and pushed ahead.