Caisse centrale Desjardins du Québec (CCDQ) has become the fifth Canadian covered bond issuer to have a programme registered with Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC), paving the way for it to issue under the country’s legal framework.

The programme was registered on Wednesday. CCDQ is the treasurer for the Desjardins Group, the largest co-operative financial group in Canada.

It joins four other Canadian issuers in having a legislative programme approved by CMHC: Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, and Royal Bank of Canada.

Canada introduced covered bond legislation as part of its National Housing Act in 2012, with CMHC responsible for administering the regime and setting out specific compliance requirements. Canadian covered bond issuers have had to set up new programmes to comply with the legal requirements, having previously only issued on a contractual basis.

Three Canadian issuers have sold legislative covered bonds under the new regime: CIBC, NBC, and RBC. CCDQ has twice tapped the benchmark covered bond market, the last time being in February 2012, with a US$1.5bn (Eu1.11bn, C$1.68bn) 1.6% five year issue.