UK Banks in the International Covered Bond Market Roundtable (February 2026)
When it took power in 2024, the new UK government set itself an ambitious target of 1.5mn new homes by the end of the parliamentary term in 2029. To continue the drive towards that figure, officials are looking at ways to attract more investors, including retail, into the bond market and, at the same time, reduce the regulatory load on financial institutions to make bond issuance and lending easier.
The prospect of lower interest rates, the pros and cons of sterling covered bonds and RMBS and when and how equivalence with euro covered bonds might happen are other topics that give issuers much to think about in 2026.
GlobalCapital brought together leading figures in treasury and debt capital markets from UK financial institutions in January to discuss these opportunities and challenges in the year ahead, including the evolution of green issuance.
Roundtable participants
| Edward Cowan, senior treasury dealer — liquidity, Skipton Building Society |
| Karen Dench, head of markets, Paragon |
| Mark Geller, managing director, global head of banks DCM and co-head of FIG DCM EMEA, Barclays Investment Bank |
| Richard Merrett, head of secured funding, Nationwide |
| Edward Smith, senior manager treasury — wholesale funding, Yorkshire Building Society |
| Cornelius Trestler, portfolio manager, HQLA investments, Barclays |
| Moderator: Toby Fildes, chief product and strategy officer, Derivia Intelligence |