SEB and Handelsbanken exceeded consensus expectations with second quarter results reported this week, while Nordea’s came in slightly below, in results that a Kepler Cheuvreux analyst said reflected the banks’ geographic business mixes.
Swedbank has received approval from Finansinspektionen, the Swedish financial supervisory authority, to use the advanced internal ratings-based (A-IRB) approach for corporate exposures in Norway and Sweden, it announced on Monday.
Svenska Handelsbanken priced a $1.4bn (Eu1bn, Skr9.4bn) dual tranche five year senior unsecured transaction on Tuesday, raising funding at a much lower cost than that available in euros to highlight a large arbitrage in play between the markets, according to a banker away from the leads.
SEB priced a Eu1bn 12 year non-call seven Tier 2 issue last Thursday (22 May), which an official at the issuer noted is the first Swedish deal this year to feature a 12NC7 structure and was launched into a market that had lost some momentum.
Nordea priced a ¥100bn (Eu720m, Skr6.47bn) three tranche Samurai today (Thursday), with a lead banker noting that the deal beat a Rabobank Samurai from last week on pricing and size.
Swedbank restarted euro benchmark covered bond supply after two weeks without issuance on Wednesday, pricing its first such deal of the year in a busy week for the FIG market across asset classes, with other Nordic issuers variously tapping senior unsecured, subordinated debt, and floating rate covered bond markets.
The Swedish FSA announced details of tighter capital requirements today (Thursday), which market participants said provide welcome but only partial clarification of the capital regime in Sweden, with outstanding questions about Pillar 2 requirements obscuring the outlook for AT1 supply.
The Swedish Bankers’ Association has suggested changes to the prevailing Basel III proposal for a Net Stable Funding Ratio to rectify what it sees as punitive treatment of covered bonds and incentives for banks to favour less stable funding sources.
Svenska Handelsbanken priced an inaugural Kangaroo senior unsecured benchmark on Tuesday, a A$650m (Eu438m, Skr3.93bn) dual tranche issue that was part of a mini-wave of Australian-targeted European issuance benefitting from local majors being in blackout, according to a syndicate banker.
The Swedish Bankers’ Association has called for liquidity assistance by central banks to be included in reporting of encumbered and unencumbered assets in a response to a European Banking Authority (EBA) consultation that finished last Thursday (20 March).