The Netherlands

In brief: Fitch on Friday downgraded NIBC Bank NV’s rating from A- to BBB+. The outlook on the rating was moved from negative to stable.

The level of support banks can expect from their owners or governments was key to rating actions made by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s in the past 24 hours, as rating actions continued on covered bond-issuing members of groups that have been at the centre of the past fortnight’s emergency rescue packages.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its AAA rating of Achmea Hypotheekbank’s covered bond programme, which was recently revealed to have had failed its asset cover test five times in the past year and had ineligible loans in its cover pool.

The credit and (il)liquidity crisis struck Europe with a vengeance today (Monday), as the UK government took over Bradford & Bingley’s loan books and wholesale liabilities, Fortis was part nationalised by the Benelux governments, and Hypo Real Estate was forced to turn to the German government for funding.

An internal audit by Achmea Hypotheekbank has revealed that some of the mortgages transferred to its covered bond company do not comply with the eligibility criteria stated in the programme prospectus, the bank said yesterday (Thursday).

In brief: The Dutch central bank has approved ING Bank's covered bond programme, following the introduction of the country's covered bond law on 1 July. The CRD compliant covered bonds will now be eligible for preferential risk-weightings.

Achmea Hypotheekbank has underlined that it has rectified administrative errors in its covered bond programme that resulted in it failing its asset cover test (ACT) five times between February 2007 and July this year.

Achmea Hypotheekbank's Eu10bn covered bond programme failed its asset cover test (ACT) on five separate occasions between its first deal in February 2007 and July this year due to calculation errors. The bank has now acted to rectify the problem, which is believed to be the first time a covered bond has suffered such a lapse.

Banco Espírito Santo priced only its second covered this (Thursday) morning and the final size was enough to make it the largest covered bond in over a month. Those outside the deal said it was a pleasant surprise that two benchmarks could be priced during a bumpy week.

*Excludes German, French, Spanish and Nordic issuance.

ING achieved the largest size of the week when it priced its second covered bond yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. The issuer said the eye-catching 50bp over mid-swaps spread was a price worth paying given the depth of demand it attracted.

ING has opened books this morning on what is only its second covered bond. The 10 year benchmark mortgage bond’s attractive pricing drew strong demand in a crowded marketplace, although the eye-catching spread split opinion.