The Mortgage Society of Finland sold a debut, €250m five year covered bond on Monday, with demand of €850m surpassing expectations after the book built rapidly, according to the issuer’s head of funding. Fellow Finnish issuer OP sold a “blowout” €1.25bn seven year issue on Tuesday.
OP Mortgage Bank set the tone for a strong week in the covered bond market with a Eu1.25bn five year issue on Monday that attracted orders approaching Eu1.8bn at a limited new issue premium, with Stadshypotek and Danske Bank Finland following successfully in its wake.
Danske Bank launched a Eu1bn (Dkr7.5bn) five year covered bond on Tuesday amid a wave of supply that the market proved more than able to absorb, and further benchmarks are due early next week.
Pohjola Bank turned to the Swedish krona market to raise Tier 2 debt on Tuesday after having retreated from a planned euro issue in June, and in doing so sold a Skr3.5bn FRN that is the largest single-tranche Tier 2 in the Swedish market and which market participants said offered savings for the Finnish issuer.
Pohjola Bank achieved investor diversification through a debut syndicated sterling deal on Tuesday, a £700m (Eu976m) dual-tranche issue that benefited from positive sentiment that followed a decisive UK election result while volatility hit the euro market.
The recent CBPP3-inspired momentum of the covered bond market appeared to have dried up over the past week, with demand for a Eu1bn 10 year OP Mortgage Bank benchmark last Friday (21 November) falling short of expectations amid other senior and covered bond issues being pulled.
OP Mortgage Bank is set to launch a 10 year benchmark imminently, having announced the mandate this (Thursday) afternoon for launch in the near future.
Attractive market conditions ahead of an ECB meeting today (Thursday) proved tempting for issuers this week as six euro benchmarks over Tuesday and Wednesday made for the busiest two days in covered bonds this year, with Finland’s OP Mortgage Bank coming tightest of the lot.
OP Mortgage Bank sold its first euro benchmark in almost two years on Monday, a Eu1bn seven year issue, but an OP-Pohjola official said that the market would not have to wait so long until its next deal.
Pohjola Bank is set to launch its first Samurai issue in the coming weeks, with the Finnish issuer having visited Japan for a deal-related roadshow ahead of the planned senior unsecured transaction.