OP Mortgage Bank will price the first euro benchmark in two weeks and its first such deal of the year today (Wednesday), a Eu1.25bn five year issue that defied poor broader market conditions to capture some Eu3.5bn of pent-up demand and come flat to secondary levels.

Leads Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Pohjola set initial price thoughts at the mid to high 30s before setting official guidance at the 35bp over mid-swaps area. Around Eu3.5bn of orders were gathered from some 120 accounts for the Finnish issue and a Eu1.25bn five year deal will be priced at 32bp over.

Syndicate officials away from the leads welcomed the trade, calling it a blowout and “exactly what the market needed”, with the quality of the issuer (a “superstar”, said one) and the jurisdiction, combined with an attractive maturity, making the deal a “no-brainer”.

However, the transaction was launched into a challenging broader market environment on the back of a weak opening, said syndicate bankers, variously citing record low 10 year Bund yields, 15bp widening of Italian and Spanish government bonds spreads, and weak equities as signs of a lack of confidence in the markets.

“Today was a really shit day,” said one.

A lead syndicate official said the deal could not have gone better, and was set up to capture a flight to quality bid.

At 32bp over, OP Mortgage Bank’s deal will be priced flat to inside the issuer’s secondary market curve, according to syndicate officials away from the transaction. Most considered the final pricing to be spot-on, after initial price thoughts that were slightly defensive but justifiably so given how markets opened today.

One saw it flat based on secondary market mid levels, while another put it tighter, saying that 33bp-34bp yesterday (Tuesday) appeared flat to the curve.

“It’s a great deal,” he said. “Tighter than that would not be possible.”

Another syndicate banker said the deal was a good transaction, but could have been priced more aggressively, with it being a touch too defensive in his view. However, difficulties with the issuer’s last deal may have influenced the approach to today’s issue, he suggested, with market conditions on the day also relevant.

OP Mortgage last came to the benchmark euro market in July last year, selling a Eu1bn no-grow seven year at 48bp over. Today’s transaction is its first euro benchmark this year and only the third from a Finnish issuer, after two from Nordea.