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.
Pohjola Bank executed the first Nordic senior unsecured euro benchmark of 2016 on Wednesday, a €500m long five year deal that the Finnish issuer’s head of group funding said was sold with a relatively limited new issue premium.
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.
Pohjola Bank launched the OP group’s first benchmark transaction of the year on Tuesday, a Eu1bn seven year bond that took advantage of a lack of supply in the senior unsecured market coupled with strong demand.
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.
Pohjola Bank launched the tightest five year senior unsecured euro benchmark of the year on Tuesday, a Eu750m issue that the OP-Pohjola head of group funding said was an opportunistic trade to take advantage of a receptive market.
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 priced a Eu1.5bn dual tranche senior unsecured deal on Monday that comprised a fixed rate issue in the seven year “sweet spot”, but FIG flow activity was otherwise limited this week.
Finland’s OP-Pohjola Group is seeking to fully acquire Pohjola Bank, having today (Thursday) announced a tender offer for all the shares of the bank that it does not already own.
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.