ING Bank and SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt confirmed an early resumption of covered bond issuance this (Monday) morning by launching euro benchmarks after a UniCredit reopener last Tuesday, with levels said to be approaching pre-crisis levels in a “red hot” market.

Dutch bank ING is pricing a Eu2bn eight year issue at 43bp over mid-swaps this afternoon, while Norway’s SpareBank 1 has fixed the re-offer spread on a long five year issue at 17bp over mid-swaps.

“The market is red hot,” said a syndicate official away from the deals. “It’s like summer has been cancelled and anything non-peripheral is working. You get these peaks and troughs and for the time being people have just forgotten that there is a crisis in Europe.

“We’re getting back to pre-crisis levels for some of these names.”

He said that there could be further new issuance this week, while another syndicate official said that he would be surprised if a German issuer did not follow on the heels of today’s brace of deals, suggesting that levels looked too tempting to ignore.

“A German name could do a very, very strong three year at flat to Libor or even come through sub-Libor,” he said. “

Leads BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING and UniCredit went out first with initial price thoughts of the mid-swaps plus 45bp area and after taking indications of interest opened books with a range of 43bp-45bp over. They built a book of Eu3.5bn and fixed the re-offer at 43bp over mid-swaps.

A banker away from the leads said that the initial price guidance had looked generous, but in light of the ultimate Eu2bn deal size was appropriate, while another said that the deal was clearly the stronger bid of today’s two issues.

The eight year maturity on ING’s issue is rare, but a syndicate official suggested that this was another symptom of the buoyant market.

“Back in the day we would get all sorts of maturities,” he said, “and now the market is better investors will be more willing to accept that.”

SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt went out after ING with initial price thoughts of the 20bp over mid-swaps area via leads BNP Paribas, DZ Bank, HSBC and UniCredit. After attracting IoIs of more than Eu1bn, they then opened books with guidance of 17bp-19bp, before fixing the spread at 17bp over for the February 2018 benchmark. According to a syndicate official at one of the leads, the order books were above Eu1.8bn when the spread was fixed ahead of the books being closed at 1245 CET.

A syndicate official away from the leads said that the pricing was through the Norwegian bank’s secondary curve, with its outstanding 2017s at 17bp/7bp versus asset swaps and its 2019s at 30bp/20p implying around 22bp for a February 2018 point on its curve.

“It is working, nonetheless,” he added.