Santander Consumer Bank Nordic returns to sell Eu750m

Santander Consumer Bank Nordic on Wednesday attracted Eu2bn of demand for a Eu750m (Nkr6.50bn) three year senior unsecured benchmark, allowing the issuer to price at the tight end of guidance while enlarging the deal to its maximum targeted size, according to an official at the issuer.

The deal is Santander Consumer Bank Nordic’s second benchmark senior unsecured transaction and the official said that it represents a continued evolution of the self-funding platform of the issuer, which is part of the Spanish group’s consumer finance arm, Santander Consumer Finance (SCF).

“It forms a part of our self-funding strategy to further develop our position in the senior unsecured space and continue issuance,” said the official. “This complements the funding we do in deposits and securitisation markets, and is very consistent with the strategy we have had in place since 2011, when we started on the self-funding route with securitisations.”

This strategy has not been changed by the acquisition by SCF of GE Money Bank AB in November 2014, the official added.

“We are a bigger entity so we have more funding to do to,” the official said, “but this has not changed our approach. We will continue to focus on being self-funded.”

Noting that the issuer had looked to launch a deal late last year but held off when the opportunity was not available, the official said Santander Consumer Bank Nordic had been eyeing the market for the past month.

“We look to be a regular name in the market and the opportunity presented itself now,” said the official.

Leads BNP Paribas, Citi, Santander GBM and UniCredit launched the deal with initial price thoughts of the 60bp over mid-swaps area, before tightening to guidance of 55bp-57bp over, with the issuer communicating that it would price within range.

The leads were then able to increase the transaction from Eu500m to the issuer’s maximum target of Eu750m, on the back of Eu2bn of orders, while printing at the tight end of guidance, 55bp. The official said that the pricing was consistent with the issuer’s expectations.

“Overall we felt it was a very solid transaction and a great execution,” the official added, noting that the issue had been launched into a supportive market.

“We want to be a regular issuer both in the senior unsecured market and the securitisation market, so we will certainly be watching for more opportunities through the year.”