SBAB launched its first benchmark euro senior unsecured floating rate note since January 2012 on Wednesday, a Eu750m (Skr6.94bn) three year issue that the issuer’s head of investor relations said is likely to be followed by a euro benchmark covered bond by the end of the third quarter.
The Swedish FSA (Finansinspektionen, or FI) on Tuesday proposed amending regulations on the countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) to raise it from 1.0% to 1.5%.
The Swedish FSA (Finansinspektionen) has published a methodology for assessing three types of risk under Pillar 2 – credit-related concentration risk, interest rate risk in the banking book, and pension risk – that will be used in capital requirements from the third quarter.
Länsförsäkringar Hypotek sold a Eu500m (Skr4.64bn) seven year covered bond at the tight end of its pricing expectations yesterday (Thursday), according to an official at the issuer, who said that it timed its deal to avoid competing supply from the Nordics and elsewhere.
Stadshypotek sold a $1bn (Skr8.70bn, Eu931m) five year 144A covered bond on Wednesday of last week (2 April) and bankers suggested that although the deal had not achieved the same level of arbitrage as some recent transactions, European issuers could still see the dollar market as attractive.
Swedbank on Wednesday sold a well-received £300m (Eu414m, Skr3.87bn) four year senior unsecured deal, making a quick return to the sterling market after having sold a £500m three year covered bond on 25 March, with an official at the issuer noting the diversification on offer and the attractive funding levels thanks to favourable currency swaps.
New Swedish mortgages originated from August must be amortised down to a LTV of 50%, under new regulation unveiled by the Swedish FSA that will be credit positive for Swedish cover pools, according to an analyst.
SBAB sold its first Additional Tier 1 issuance on Monday, Skr1.5bn (Eu163m) of perpetual non-call five notes split into fixed and floating rate tranches that were priced just 15bp wider than where Nordea last week issued krona AT1.
Nordea Bank Finland drew over Eu4.25bn of demand for a dual-tranche, 5.25 and 12 year, deal on Tuesday that, at Eu2bn, is the largest covered bond issue since November and the first dual-tranche benchmark to have both tranches pricing through swaps.
Negative interest rates will squeeze Swedish banks’ margins and reduce their profitability, Moody’s said on Monday, after Sweden’s central bank reduced its repo rate from 0.0% to negative 0.10% on February 12.