Sweden

Issuers could this week see any plans for issuance frustrated by competition within the covered bond market and also from the senior unsecured market, with spreads coming under pressure from both quarters. However, that is not stopping a wide array of names seeking out the smallest opening and this week has already seen more supply attempted in the same buckets as last week.

Swedbank has closed books on its Eu1bn two year issue and priced the mortgage backed deal at 22bp over mid-swaps, the middle of guidance, bringing to a successful conclusion an exercise that had several hurdles to overcome along the way.

Swedbank opened books on a two year mortgage backed benchmark this (Thursday) morning some 5bp back from where some accounts were sounded out earlier this week, suggesting that the issuer was suffering from launching a deal in almost direct competition with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, which priced its Eu1bn three year mortgage backed deal yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken closed books on the first post-holiday benchmark this (Wednesday) morning, but its execution gave little cause for celebration. The potential for competing issuers’ plans to clash in what is expected to be a busy period has also been made clear, with negative implications for spreads.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB has mandated Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, SEB and UBS to launch a new mortgage backed benchmark in the coming weeks once the holiday season has drawn to a close.

Deutsche Bank may have come first in the all benchmarks ranking for the first half of 2008, but it was by no means the strongest across all markets. Here The Cover reveals the top banks in each of the biggest sectors and examines where the leading banks’ weaknesses lie.

The covered bond market had a deflated feel to it this morning (Thursday) following the temporary postponement of the Swedish Covered Bond Corporation’s new issue. However, market participants refused to be derailed with leads suggesting the bond could return soon in slightly altered form if conditions change. Meanwhile, those outside the deal were unwilling to believe the primary market completely was closed.

After several hours of bookbuilding today, SCBC has pulled, at least temporarily, the short four year euro benchmark deal that it had expected to price later today. The leads blamed market volatility but the deal was also suffering as it came in a similar tenor to the recent Swedbank and DnB Nor new issues that had made heavy weather of bookbuilding.

In brief: With the primary market still active, one Scandinavian issuer has joined the pipeline and a French borrower has completed its roadshow. Meanwhile a fellow Scandinavian issuer has added Namenspfandbriefe to its funding options.

Swedbank is set to price its new Eu1bn three year covered bond this (Thursday) afternoon. However, the deal’s slow progress towards being narrowly oversubscribed was highlighted by some bankers outside the deal, who said that the deal had come too tight to a recent new issue from the Nordic region.

SEB AG nipped into the market this (Wednesday) morning before tomorrow’s continental European holidays to launch a Eu1bn two year public sector Pfandbrief. Some Eu1.25bn of orders had been placed by the time the books were closed late this morning.