Sweden

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, April 6. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

The Swedish national debt office (Riksgälden) said on Tuesday that banks would have two extra years to raise non-preferred senior debt for their minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL). The announcement came a day after Svenska Handelsbanken sold an ordinary senior deal in the euro market.

Swedish Export Credit (SEK) joined the ranks of SSAs increasing their funding programmes in response to the Covid-19 crisis this week. Meanwhile, Norway’s Kommunalbanken (KBN) has dropped its target by $2bn as a result of a weakening Norwegian kroner.

This week's scorecard looks at the progress Nordic agencies have made in their 2020 funding programmes at the start of the second quarter.

Svenska Handelsbanken attracted €8.5bn of demand for a new preferred senior bond on Monday, as credit markets started the week on a strong footing. The Swedish lender said the transaction would help it to ‘prudently manage’ its liquidity position.

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, March 30. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

The dollar bond market is gradually opening up, with two high quality public sector borrowers hitting screens on Monday for short dated deals. But with volatility still gripping the cross-currency basis swap market, European borrowers are still sticking to their home currency.

The coronavirus crisis has focused attention on how companies can get access to cash, and for many, that is a top priority. However, there are some that feel they have enough, and are going in the opposite direction: spending it for financial gain. Many, and even some banks, are considering buying back bonds at the current cheap prices.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Pockets of stability in the Swedish market drove demand across the curve this week, allowing investors the chance to pick up a handful of well-known SSA names at highly attractive levels.

The primary public sector bond market came back to life on Tuesday as a pair of sovereigns and the European Investment Bank sold deals alongside German states. But it was far from a case of picking up where they left off as borrowers were made to pay new issue premiums of up to 20bp versus the secondary market levels on screens.

The Nordic region’s credit markets are experiencing something of a lockdown as the spread of Covid-19 lead to dozens of fund providers halting withdrawals last week and the effective closure of the primary market due to a shortage of liquidity.