Svenska Handelsbanken rounded off a Samurai issuance spree from Nordic and other European banks today (Thursday), pricing a ¥50.5bn (Eu396m, Skr3.47bn) four tranche transaction inside Swedish peer Nordea.
Moody’s downgraded Länsförsäkringar Bank’s debt and deposit ratings from A2 to A3, on stable outlook, yesterday (Wednesday), citing relatively light capitalisation at the bank level, high growth rates in recent years, and market funding reliance.
Svenska Handelsbanken is set to become the third Nordic issuer to tap the Samurai market within the space of a month, with soft marketing for the Swedish bank’s debut, senior unsecured issue expected to start tomorrow (Friday).
Swedbank has launched a cash any-and-all tender offer for the remaining stock of its publicly placed government guaranteed bonds to optimise the bank’s funding structure, with the bonds already having been refinanced.
Moody’s has upgraded Swedbank because it considers that the bank’s credit profile has strengthened, and Fitch revised the outlook on Danske Bank from negative to stable due to lower risk from its Ireland exposure.
The International Monetary Fund has voiced its support for regulatory initiatives underway in Norway such as plans for higher risk weights for mortgages and closer scrutiny of covered bond issuance. Meanwhile, the Riksbank said Sweden’s banks need to be more resilient in the long run.
Nordea Bank positioned itself as the tightest European FIG credit in the Samurai market yesterday (Wednesday), pricing a ¥91.2bn (Eu693m, Skr5.96bn) senior unsecured issue inside Rabobank.
LF Hypotek returned to the public euro covered bond market for the first time in nearly two years on Monday, selling a three times subscribed Eu500m seven year deal that was priced close to recent transactions by its larger peers, including Swedbank Mortgage last week.
Svenska Handelsbanken sold its first public sterling issue of the year on Tuesday, a well-received £400m three year floating rate note.
Per Tunestam, treasurer, SBAB spoke to Nordic FIs & Covered after the launch of it’s senior unsecured benchmark this week, discussing modifications to its funding strategy and new regulations.