Swedbank

Swedbank listed a new programme on the Tokyo Pro-Bond market on Wednesday, as the Swedish bank looks to dip its toes into ever more attractive yen funding.

Rating: Aa3/AA-/AA-

Swedbank fixed a final spread below 100bp on a new €650m 10.5 year non-call 5.5 on Monday, as issuers in the asset class benefit from supportive market conditions and strong supply dynamics.

Crédit Agricole issued one of three euro benchmark covered bonds this week, attracting demand that topped the combined interest seen in deals issued by Swedbank and HVB.

Swedbank took advantage of strong market conditions to issue its second covered bond of the year which was priced with a negligible concession and extended its curve.

Swedbank launched a new five year on the back of ‘extraordinarily tight’ secondary levels on Friday, taking advantage of strong dynamics in the preferred senior market and a remarkable year for Swedish debt.

The Swedish National Debt Office (SNDO) promoted non-preferred debt as a way for Swedish banks to meet the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) on Thursday, establishing a favourable method for calculating the requirement and a manageable timeline for its implementation.

Shares in Diös Fastigheter, the Swedish property company, closed 4.5% higher on Thursday after it completed its Skr1.85bn ($209m) rights issue to partly finance the acquisition of a portfolio of mainly commercial and retail properties from Castellum in cities in northern Sweden.

Covered bond deals issued this week by Société Générale and Erste Bank showed that there is still good demand for bonds issued by national champions, even in the more difficult longer tenors.

Swedbank and Swedish Covered Bond Corporation rapidly attracted solid oversubscriptions for their €1bn five and seven year covered bonds that were priced with a minimal concession on Monday.

Swedbank followed BNP Paribas in issuing additional tier one debt in dollars this week, as the European banks looked to take advantage of unusually high investor engagement in December.

Swedbank became the third non-UK issuer to launch a sterling covered bond since September with a rare five year offer on Wednesday.