Several covered bond issuers will embark on roadshows over the coming weeks ahead of possible follow-up deals amid signs of life returning to the euro benchmark market, which has not been tapped since early July. Finland’s Ålandsbanken has meanwhile received a licence to issue covered bonds.

Primary market activity this week has featured sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) sector supply, with one covered bond syndicate official saying that this market segment was investors’ focus at the moment.

Another had a positive outlook on the prospects for benchmark covered bond supply next week, however, saying that the first new issue should be launched then – sentiment permitting.

“Everyone is back from holiday, it’s the first week you can look at the market for covered bonds, and investors are cash rich,” he said.

The market was “crazy”, with yields falling and sentiment shaky, but a pipeline building, he added.

At least four covered bond issuers will be holding roadshows over the coming weeks, although one syndicate banker cautioned against reading too much into this activity.

“Having these roadshows is no signal at all,” he said. “The wish of names to do something in the market is alive, but this doesn’t tell you anything about whether investors will be willing to buy in four weeks.

“Both issuers and banks are still well advised to treat things carefully and not rush into anything.”

Austria’s Raiffeisen Landesbank Steiermark has mandated DZ Bank, Crédit Agricole, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and UniCredit to work with it on a roadshow that starts next week, according to a syndicate official at one of the banks involved.

Norwegian issuer Terra Boligkreditt is due to hold a series of investor meetings to update investors after the publication of its half year results and in relation to an upcoming euro covered bond, according to a syndicate official at one of the leads – Commerzbank, Nordea, UBS and UniCredit.

The roadshow will start in the last week of August, and be “relatively extensive”, lasting for nearly two weeks, according to an official at the issuer.

Fellow Norwegian issuer DnB Nor is set to go on a two week Asian roadshow this month. It will start on 29 August and have covered bonds as its focus, but will also address the bank’s activity in senior unsecured markets.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa will on 5 September embark on a roadshow to present to investors a new, Eu10bn public sector obligations foncières programme. Credit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, DZ Bank and UniCredit will be working with the issuer, with the roadshow due to make stops in France, Germany, the UK and Scandinavia.

The French issuer has already sold benchmark covered bonds backed by mortgages. Crédit Mutuel Arkéa Covered Bonds, the entity that previously issued structured French covered bonds, has been transformed into Crédit Mutuel Arkéa Home Loans SFH.

Finland’s Ålandsbanken looks set to become the fifth Finnish issuer of covered bonds. It was granted a licence to issue covered bonds on 28 July, according to an interim report of the bank, and an official confirmed that preparations are underway.

“This provides the Bank of Åland with access to significantly more favourable long term funding,” said the bank in its report.

Covered bonds issued by Norway’s SpareBank 1 Naeringskreditt were yesterday (Wednesday) assigned a definitive Aa3 rating, with a Timely Payment Indicator (TPI) of “improbable”.