Kommuninvest

Issuers would be wise not to dither come January, according to syndicate bankers, with several borrowers that are usually only seen in the dollar market plotting euro deals for 2014. Coupled with what is expected to be a busier than normal start to the year, the calendar — especially in euros — looks to be packed.

A shift by agencies towards symmetrical, two-way credit support annexes (CSAs) could well be the best present SSA bankers receive this Christmas. Even supranationals are starting to move towards equal swap agreements.

Top rated issuers with two-way credit support annexes could find a competitive advantage in the growing Uridashi market in the new year, with the agreements useful for printing highly structured notes that can entice yield hunting investors up the credit curve.

Kommuninvest hopes to pioneer a number of new structures on the Uridashi market in 2014, looking to introduce variety to its issuance in order to respond to changing investor interest in light of a rejuvenated Nikkei stock index.

This week's scorecard features Scandinavian agencies. Most of the issuers have completed their funding targets for the year, though Kommunalbanken, Municipality Finance and Swedish Export Credit Corporation have all expressed interest in prefunding for 2014.

This week's scorecard features Scandinavian agencies. Several issuers have completed or are near completing their funding targets for the year, and some are contemplating prefunding their 2014 needs before the end of the year.

Strong demand for the sole dollar effort of the week so far — a three year benchmark from Kommuninvest — has led to speculation that other issuers might look to bring dollar deals before the end of the week, with investor appetite looking to be sharp even while the US government remains shut down.

Kommuninvest is likely to open books on a dollar benchmark on Tuesday morning with price guidance inside initial price thoughts, SSA Markets understands, having begun sounding investors on Monday at a level that bankers away from the deal described as defensive. The deal marks the first dollar benchmark since the US government went into shutdown on October 1.

Kommuninvest, which sold a three year Swedish krona benchmark on Tuesday, is aiming to print a longer dated deal in its next sally into the domestic market.

SSA issuers have not ruled out next week as a potential window for dollar issuance, despite concerns stemming from the shutdown of US government agencies on Tuesday.

Sovereign, supranational and agency issuers have eschewed the new issue market so far this week because of the volatility inducing potential of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee meeting which kicks off on Wednesday. But several are in the pipeline to take advantage of the calmer markets expected next week.

German development bank, KfW is set to price on Tuesday, the biggest ever seven year global dollar bond away from issuance by US GSE borrowers. The issuer will price a $3bn deal in line with guidance. Two other SSA borrowers tapped shorter maturities in the currency.