Germany’s Deutsche Pfandbriefbank today (Wednesday) paid a third visit to the euro benchmark market this year, pricing a more than twice subscribed Eu500m no-grow five year mortgage issue that some bankers said came flat to through the secondary market curve.

The deal marks a rapid return to the market after the issuer (pbb) on 24 May sold a Eu500m seven year mortgage Pfandbrief. That was priced at 60bp, and was this morning said to be around 57bp. Its first euro benchmark of the year was a Eu500m four year in early January.

Leads Barclay, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg priced today’s deal at 38bp over mid-swaps, the tight end of guidance of 38bp-40bp that was revised from the 40bp over area. The leads yesterday (Tuesday) collected indications of interest on the basis of the low 40s.

A lead syndicate official said that the deal was not launched at short notice, having been under discussion for a few weeks. It came on a much quieter day for the new issue markets ahead of an important EU summit that starts tomorrow (Thursday), after a busy day for new supply yesterday, in particular in SSAs.

Around Eu1.3bn of orders were placed by nearly 90 accounts.

“It was a very solid order book, with a good granular split,” he said. “There was some central bank participation but it was not the main driver, with good involvement from real money and unsurprisingly banks, too.”

Syndicate bankers away from the leads said that the trade had gone well, with one noting that accounts appeared undeterred by what he saw as the lack of a new issue premium. He put a January 2017 issue, a public sector backed Pfandbrief, at 38bp over.

A lead syndicate official said that the deal ended up coming flat to the issuer’s curve.

Others had a different view, with one seeing a new issue concession of 3bp-4bp involved and another considering pricing to have been ambitious, with a re-offer spread of 38bp over representing a negative new issue premium.

He said that while there was a phase in which deals were coming without or even with negative new issue premiums it is surprising to see this in the prevailing, uncertain market environment and on a deal from an issuer such as pbb.

The transaction was a success, he said, attributing this to paper from core European jurisdictions being in demand, with pbb able to offer a pick-up over other recent Pfandbrief deals, and the five year maturity also appealing.