The US dollar covered bond market is experiencing a flurry of activity, with Westpac announcing the mandate for a five year issue today (Wednesday), after SEB met with a convincing reception for an inaugural US targeted deal yesterday.

Westpac has announced a mandate for a five year dollar covered bond, and is working with Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, RBC in addition to its own investment bank. The deal would be the issuer’s first in the currency this year, after transactions for its peers Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank in January and February, respectively.

Westpac Banking Corporation last tapped the US dollar market in December, with a $2bn (Eu1.55bn/A$2.05bn) five year that came at 50bp over mid-swaps.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken priced a $1.5bn (Eu1.16bn, Skr9.96bn) five year yesterday (Tuesday), with leads Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and SEB gathering some $2bn of orders. Guidance was set at the 45bp over mid-swaps area plus/minus 2bp, and the deal was re-offered at 43bp over.

That is 1bp wide of where fellow Swedish issuer Stadshypotek sold a $1.25bn five year on Thursday, with the 42bp over re-offer spread on the latter’s deal the tightest ever pricing for a Nordic dollar covered bond, according to an official at the issuer. He said the deal was trading at around 38bp-39bp over yesterday.

A banker on Stadshypotek’s deal had said the pricing was equivalent to a level slightly through where the issuer would be able to fund in euros, and Maureen Schuller, head of covered bond strategy at ING, said that SEB’s deal also showed that the basis swap advantage of US dollar issuance over euros is negligible.

She said that SEB’s interpolated five year euro curve is at a z-spread of 12bp/6bp, equivalent to 47bp/42bp over in dollars, which is roughly in line with pricing of 43bp over mid-swaps.

SEB’s deal was its first US targeted dollar covered bond, and came two months after its first senior unsecured deal in US dollars. Banker away from the leads said the deal looked like a success.

“They priced 1bp close to established Handelsbanken, which looks like a very good result,” said one.