Belgium

The coming market rush to comply with margin rules on uncleared swaps will be a big challenge in itself, but regulators need to think hard about the unintended repo risks they are creating by requiring collateral building at breakneck speed.

Rapeseed futures have hit peak trading volume, with Euronext reporting successive records last week.

The debut covered bond of BNP Paribas Fortis and the first in four years from SNS Bank were priced on Monday with virtually no new issue concession to healthy levels of subscription.

Next week is likely to be one of the busiest in the fourth quarter in covered bonds, as a string of debut deals emerge, along with the first ever publicly syndicated euro benchmark from Poland.

The European Parliament will fast-track its approval of margin rules for uncleared swaps, adding certainty to the deadline for implementation but also accelerating the workload for the first wave of major banks that will need to comply.

KBC Group was set to raise €750m of seven year senior debt from its holding company on Monday, adding a second point to its curve and putting an end to the lull in euro issuance.

The French owned Belgian bank has appointed leads to market its first legally compliant covered bond that is backed by Belgian mortgages.

The covered bond pipeline grew this week as Ibercaja and BNP Paribas Fortis mandated leads for roadshows and Nordea signalled it could be ready to return soon.

The European Commission has approved, with some amendments, rules for collecting margin on uncleared derivatives, traversing a key hurdle as Europe seeks to catch up with Canada, Japan and the US.

Flemish Community made its euro benchmark debut on Tuesday with a €1.25bn dual tranche Reg S deal.

A handful of deals could hit the euro market for public sector borrowers next week, with the seven year part of the curve looking particularly attractive — the latest evidence for which was a KfW trade this week.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has proposed making it mandatory to trade the iTraxx Europe and Crossover credit default swap indices on a regulated market or other recognised trading facility.