Sweden

DNB successfully issued a Swedish krona covered bond on Thursday in a size large enough to qualify for the best treatment under the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and at a more competitive funding level than was available elsewhere. The deal emerges in the wake of a report from Moody’s which highlighted the strength of the Swedish covered bond market.

Scope for Nordic covered bond issuance in euros is moderately positive, even in Sweden where some issuers could yet make a strategic return to euros despite the higher cost. Danes and Norwegians may also make an appearance in euros, but Finnish supply hopes are considered more limited.

Sweden began a series of calls with investors on Wednesday as it prepares to issue its highly anticipated inaugural green bond through syndication later this month.

Rating: Aa1/AA+

Kommuninvest is launching a pilot programme of sustainability loans. If there is enough demand, these will be funded through the institution's first social bond.

Danish banks say they could replace non-preferred senior debt with preferred senior bonds in the second half of 2020, after Denmark’s national supervisor relaxed minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).

Shares in Cellink, the Swedish maker of 3D printing equipment for the life sciences industry, rose more than 4% on Thursday morning after the company completed a Skr946m ($109.2m) growth capital raising, amid strong investor appetite for exposure to the healthcare sector due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Two agencies were out with dollar mandates on Monday and more public sector borrowers could follow with deals this week as a rise in US Treasury yields boosts demand for SSA dollar bonds.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) broke the silence in the SSA market with a Canadian dollar sustainable development bond. The deal shared the market with a dollar trade from Kommuninvest, with both issuers steering clear of the almost dormant euro market.

Subordinated bond issuance could decline dramatically among Nordic banks following implementation the EU’s new bank recovery and resolution directive (BRRD 2), Fitch said this week.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, July 27. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

This week's scorecard looks at the progress Nordic agencies have made in their 2020 funding programmes in late July.