Despite uncertainty surrounding covered bond legislation in the U.S., issuers may place around $50 billion in the greenback market this year, according to Karlo Fuchs, senior director at Standard & Poor’s.
Issuers from Canada are expected to remain the most active, with France, the U.K. and Scandinavian banks tapping U.S.-dollar investors as well.
The figure would be a significant bump up from the $30 billion in U.S.-dollar covered bonds issued last year. Canada supplied about half of the total, with the other 50% coming from the U.K. and France.
Having survived the crisis relatively unscathed, Canadian banks are viewed favorably across the world, Fuchs said. They have also been successful floating covered bonds in the Australian market, where investors are hungry for longer-term paper at the triple-A level, which is in relatively short supply.
