Nykredit Realkredit got the new Danish auction season off to a flying start on Monday morning when its opening, Dkr7bn (Eu939m) sale of one year ARM bonds attracted some Dkr27.9bn of bids and achieved a level inside expectations, and the following auctions unfolded in the same vein.
Second quarter results for Danske, reported today (Thursday), reveal “good progress all over”, with a raised outlook for 2014 reflecting higher management confidence, while Swedbank results underline a Swedish trend, said a Kepler Cheuvreux analyst.
Nykredit Realkredit launched the first Tier 2 CoCo out of Denmark on Friday, a Eu600m (Dkr4.48bn) 22 year non-call seven transaction that was five times oversubscribed.
Danske Bank completed its first euro benchmark flow funding exercise of the year yesterday (Wednesday), a Eu750m three year senior unsecured floating rate note felt to be best suited to a softer market, while SEB was today out with the fourth Nordic Tier 2 issue of the year.
Stadshypotek launched a rare euro floating rate covered bond this (Friday) morning, a Eu300m five year issue that was launched opportunistically in response to interest in the format from investors, with the deal providing the issuer with attractive funding versus its curve, according to a lead syndicate banker.
The Nordic first quarter reporting season is well underway, with Danske today (Thursday) the latest to announce results. Mats Anderson, equity research analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, says that results have been marginally better than expected, boding well for the rest of the year.
The benchmark covered bond market was quiet this week due to public holidays and blackouts, but market conditions were described as positive by bankers, and Nordic financial institutions, which are among the first to report results, have been cited as a potential source of issuance.
Arion Bank, the successor to Kaupthing Bank, is poised to become the first Icelandic bank to tap the euro senior unsecured market since the collapse of the country’s banks in the financial crisis, a move that the issuer’s CFO said the market is ready for.
Nordea Bank priced a $2.25bn triple tranche senior unsecured bond on Monday, the last day of the first quarter, with a syndicate official at one of the leads noting that a larger deal may have been possible.
Stadshypotek priced a Eu1.25bn five year covered bond on Monday, the joint tightest post-crisis non-German Pfandbrief euro benchmark covered bond, with an official at the issuer noting that the prevailing euro market provided a “unique” funding opportunity for Scandinavian issuers.