The LCR Delegated Act from the European Commission is finally out. No, really, it is! Seriously, we are talking about the real thing, not just another leaked document but the final version, the one that will be relevant in the real world and not only talked about in Brussels and a number of European capitals.

Covered bonds’ anticipated favourable treatment in the Liquidity Coverage Requirement was confirmed by the European Commission on Friday, with the highest rated covered bonds eligible for up to 70% of liquidity buffers as Level 1 assets and others in Level 2A or 2B.

The completion of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) rules among various countries is proceeding, with the US releasing its final policy. On the euro front, another document was leaked, with most parameters remaining the same.

The EC is steering toward keeping covered bonds as Level 2 assets for LCR purposes but allowing them to make up a larger share, according to sources, and an EC spokesperson said “talks are progressing well” about a solution addressing Danish concerns.

The Finnish Ministry of Finance presented proposals for the implementation of the CRD IV and CRR framework to parliament last Thursday (17 April), with the proposals in line with expectations, according to an official from the Federation of Finnish Financial Services.

The European Commission will take into account “features specific to the EU banking system and financial markets” in addition to European Banking Authority (EBA) reports and international standards when deciding on covered bonds’ status in the LCRs, according to an EC spokesperson.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has excluded covered bonds from assets it has recommended should be eligible as extremely high quality liquid assets for Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) purposes in a report to the European Commission.

The EBA on 20 December published its final recommendations on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), which exclude covered bonds from Level 1 status. Crédit Agricole CIB’s Florian Eichert takes a closer look at the potential implications, and sees investor behaviour only really changing in response to a lower minimum rating criterion. 

Fears are mounting that covered bonds could fail to secure a position as Level 1 LCR assets after it emerged that the EBA’s Board of Supervisors is against such a recommendation. However, the ECBC and others have said that Level 1 inclusion remains a real possibility.

Covered bonds are virtually as liquid as government bonds, according to a “very preliminary” draft ranking released by the European Banking Authority yesterday (Wednesday), which market participants have said puts the asset class in a strong position to be considered as Level 1 assets in Liquidity Coverage Ratios.