The euro — from the outside looking in

The covered bond market has roared back to life in 2012. After a torrid six months of sovereign turmoil and widespread risk-aversion, issuers are enjoying record order books and unprecedented demand. But as the debt crisis still casts a pall over the Eurozone, investors continue to prize issuance from regions untroubled by the threat of sovereign default, bank insolvency and systemic risk. Australia and the Nordic jurisdictions are two such regions, boasting strong economies and sound financial systems that particularly appeal to buyers in search of safe-havens. With domestic markets to rely on, euro benchmarks from both areas have additional rarity value.