Svenska Handelsbanken launched its inaugural Additional Tier 1 (AT1) issue on Wednesday, a $1.2bn (Eu1.05bn, Skr10bn) perpetual non-call six deal that achieved the lowest coupon on a US dollar AT1 and attracted $4.7bn of demand.
A partial waiver from certain CRR requirements proposed by the Swedish FSA to reduce concentration risk would be credit positive for Swedish covered bonds, according to Moody’s, as it would allow programmes to maintain protections against market risks.
Concentrated exposure to domestic real estate is a key risk factor and a negative driver of Swedish bank ratings, Scope Ratings said yesterday (Thursday), warning that the Swedish property market is overvalued by 20%-30%.
Nordea and SEB opened the latest earnings season this week with results that were resilient against the headwinds from autumn interest rate cuts and bode well for their peers, although the dividend and capital policies of the two Swedish banks contrasted.
The Swedish FSA is implementing a partial waiver from the application of CRR covered bond requirements that could cause concentration risk after the European Banking Authority agreed that a similar move in Denmark is justified.
Swedish house prices could fall in 2015 against a backdrop of stricter amortisation requirements and Europe’s deteriorating economic outlook, but Swedish covered bond ratings would likely prove resilient even if prices fell by 30%, Standard & Poor’s said yesterday (Wednesday).
Norway came top out of six countries in a Moody’s ranking of how strong different jurisdictions are with respect to eligibility criteria for cover pool assets based on a combination of covered bond law and market practice, while Sweden was first taking into account only the covered bond law.
Swedish FSA proposals that new mortgage loans be amortised down to 50% of a property’s value according to a specified schedule would be credit positive for banks and covered bonds, according to Moody’s, but an industry representative suggested that implementation will be difficult.
SEB reopened the AT1 market on Thursday of last week (6 November), pricing a debut $1.1bn (Eu883m, Skr8.17bn) perpetual non-call 5.5 issue with a coupon of 5.75% in the first European bank AT1 supply since a deal for fellow Swede Nordea on 17 September.
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) is expected to launch its first Additional Tier 1 (AT1) issue shortly, in the US dollar market, after having begun a roadshow on Monday.