SEB is pricing a Eu1bn seven year euro benchmark today (Monday) 1bp back from where Stadshypotek priced a similarly sized deal in the maturity last Thursday, although syndicate officials expect further supply from Nordic issuers as they emerge from blackouts.

Leads Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, SEB and UBS went out with initial price thoughts (IPTs) of the low double-digits for the new seven year issue from Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB).

After taking indications of interest of some Eu1bn, they set official guidance at the 10bp area and fixed the re-offer spread at 10bp over mid-swaps, having built a book of more than Eu1.3bn.

Syndicate officials away from the leads noted that this was 1bp wide of the 9bp over mid-swaps level achieved by Svenska Handelsbanken subsidiary Stadshypotek last Thursday. SEB’s peer attracted some Eu1.7bn of orders.

One banker noted that the market had been a little softer after Stadshypotek’s deal, with some long dated peripheral issues wider on Friday afternoon, for example, and even Stadshypotek’s issue said to be bid 1bp wider than re-offer. He said the market was a couple of basis points wider today, although not significantly worse.

“SEB was obviously targeting Stadshypotek’s result of Eu1bn at 9bp, but faced difficulties doing that,” he said. “It may be because everything’s just so tight.”

Another syndicate official said that given the deal was a “copy/paste” of Stadshypotek’s, he was surprised that it did not come inside 10bp.

“The must have met with a bit of resistance,” he said. “They are not quite as strong a credit, but I would have thought that given the momentum and with the positive noises about covered bonds in liquidity buffers they could have priced at the same level.

“But it is still a great level,” he added.

Indeed bankers said that further supply is likely to be forthcoming from Nordic issuers, who are emerging from blackouts, with Sweden’s SBAB the latest to have done so, this morning.

“SEB announcing on Friday afternoon suggests that there are others waiting in the wings,” said one. “The basis swap gives them pretty decent levels versus their domestic levels so the potential is there.”

However, there were no other covered bond mandates publicly announced this morning.