Turkey

Despite the recent sell off in emerging market credits, investors remain interested in Turkish bank private placements, according to MTN dealers.

Turkey’s updated covered bond law is credit positive, Moody’s said on Monday, after the country’s Capital Market Board announced the changes last week. However, the timetable for the first Turkish euro denominated mortgage backed benchmark has been pushed back after the lira hit new lows.

The Turkish covered bond law will be updated any moment now, paving the way for the first publicly syndicated euro denominated, mortgage backed covered bond. VakıfBank, Işbank, Ziraat Bank, and Akbank are in the frame, but the odds-on favourite to bring the first benchmark sized deal is Garanti Bank, which may surface in the first quarter.

Vakifbank is yet to mandate banks for its next Eurobond deal, but is “working closely” with Unicredit and Natixis to bring what could be Turkey’s first ever mortgage-backed covered bond transaction, said a funding official at the borrower. Those banks have not been officially mandated for the covered bond.

Garanti Bank is still looking at the possibility of issuing mortgage backed covered bonds, although the market backdrop has soured since it started. The bank’s board has approved issuance of up to €1bn and a recent rise in spreads could help bring in new accounts, an official told EuroWeek Emerging Markets.

Political unrest against the backdrop of a broader emerging market sell-off could yet prove a toxic combination for Turkey if the government fails to address key economic imbalances, says Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker.

Turkey’s banks have taken advantage of global liquidity to explore a slew of new funding options. The trend looks set to survive the mid-summer emerging market sell-off. Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker reports.

Denizbank launched the first tranche of its SME-backed covered bond on Thursday, and placed the bonds with three supranational agencies.

Turkey’s Denizbank is expected to price its SME covered bond within the month and there are hopes other issuers will follow. While the SME product is unlikely to be seen as anything other than niche, there are strong expectations that at least four borrowers will launch euro denominated mortgage backed deals in benchmark size.

Denizbank is a step closer to making its covered bond debut after receiving a A3 rating from Moody’s this week.

Turkey’s Akbank could pip Garanti Bank to the post and issue the first euro denominated Turkish covered bond backed by residential mortgage assets. The issuer has been on the road pre-marketing a benchmark sized deal. With a higher rating than many Western European deals, and a market starved of supply, the deal should attract good interest, despite its emerging market label.

Turkey’s covered bond market is set to break away from SME-only issuance into mortgage transactions. Garanti Bank is planning a mortgage backed covered bond and several other issuers are keen to use the asset class to fund mortgage lending, said bankers.