Swedbank sold a Eu400m three year senior unsecured FRN on Wednesday that was priced above par in order to avoid the impact of negative rates, and bankers said it had done well to attract over Eu500m of orders and price the deal with no premium in light of using a still-novel elevated coupon.
Swedbank attracted the most demand of any euro benchmark covered bond this year on Wednesday, pricing a EUR1.25bn five year issue at only a modest new issue premium (NIP), and SEB yesterday (Thursday) built upon the template to issue a EUR1.5bn five year at the same level.
Fitch sees potential for upgrades of major Nordic banks in 2016, it said yesterday (Thursday), with SEB and Swedbank leading the positive outlook, although the timing of such rating actions would depend on how successfully sustainable long term performance and conservative credit risk profiles are balanced.
Standard & Poor’s upgraded Swedbank to AA- on Wednesday and revised its outlook on Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) from negative to stable, citing a belief that the Swedish government will still support systemically important banks’ senior creditors in spite of BRRD, but the rating agency also warned of heightened economic risks for Swedish banks.
Swedbank priced an inaugural Australian dollar bond on Wednesday, a A$390m (Eu252m, Skr2.36bn) issue split into a A$325m three year FRN and a A$65m 10 year fixed rate tranche, which an official at the issuer said offered diversification and attractive funding.
Third quarter results of the big four Swedish banks came in below consensus expectations this week, with the impact of persistently low interest rates on net interest income (NII) and weak capital markets cited as contributing to the weaker than expected performance.
Swedbank exceeded expectations with a covered bond on Tuesday after SR-Boligkreditt sold a well-received debut on Monday, and the Nordic issues were identified as being among the strongest results during a busy week in which spreads widened and many deals struggled to find demand.
Swedbank launched the first Nordic senior unsecured euro benchmark since May on Tuesday, taking advantage of a quiet market to print a Eu500m five year floating rate note, but bankers predicted that euro benchmark supply would remain slim in the summer holiday season.
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) kicked off Swedish banks’ Q2 results announcements on Tuesday with pre-tax profits of Skr5.3bn (Eu570m) that were 14% ahead of consensus expectations, with strong commission revenues offsetting a fall in net interest income.
Moody’s upgraded six Nordic issuers yesterday (Wednesday) – Danske, DNB, Handelsbanken, Nykredit Realkredit, SEB and Swedbank – citing strong macro profiles, healthy and strengthened core financial ratios and benefits of the introduction of bail-in regimes across the region.