Danske life insurance subsidiary Danica launched its first new bond issue since 2006 on Monday, a Eu500m (Dkr3.73bn) 30 year non-call 10 subordinated transaction that sold out at a level reflecting the challenging market conditions prevailing in credit markets this week.

The Swedish government is proposing to introduce a 2% minimum overcollateralisation requirement in legislation so the country’s covered bonds will meet the criteria necessary for exemption from central clearing obligations for OTC derivatives under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

Swedbank exceeded expectations with a covered bond on Tuesday after SR-Boligkreditt sold a well-received debut on Monday, and the Nordic issues were identified as being among the strongest results during a busy week in which spreads widened and many deals struggled to find demand.

Holders of Skandiabanken Norwegian krone-denominated covered bonds have approved the Swedish bank’s plan to convert their covered bonds into obligations of a new Norwegian issuer it is setting up as part of plans to spin off its Norwegian banking operations.

Denmark and Sweden are among six countries where in DBRS’s view covered bonds are a particularly important funding instrument, meaning that issuers from the countries can be eligible for the highest possible uplift from their senior unsecured rating under an updated methodology the rating agency finalised last week.

Revived plans to introduce compulsory amortisation requirements for new mortgage loans in Sweden could enhance Swedish covered bonds’ credit quality, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Sparebanken Vest found conditions challenging when executing a Eu500m five year covered bond on Tuesday and paid more than expected, according to an official at the bank, but he said the issuer moved early as it is not clear the market will improve in the coming weeks.

Svenska Handelsbanken sold a ¥66.8bn (Skr4.67bn, Eu496m) three tranche Samurai last Friday (28 September) in its third visit to the Japanese market in three years and against a volatile market backdrop.

Sweden’s Skandiabanken is seeking bondholder approval to transfer two outstanding Norwegian krone senior unsecured FRNs to a new subsidiary in Norway it is establishing ahead of a fourth quarter IPO of its banking operations in that country.

Sweden’s Riksbank kept the repo rate unchanged at minus 0.35% yesterday (Thursday), although market participants still expect the central bank to engage in further monetary policy measures over the coming months.