Danske priced its first euro covered bond in over a year yesterday (Tuesday), a move the issuer had contemplated making last month before weaker market conditions prompted it to wait, with yesterday’s deal, a Eu1bn seven year, meeting its goals, according to an official at the bank.

The deal was one of three new issues in the euro benchmark market yesterday to contribute to an unusually busy session by recent standards. The mandate was announced on Monday afternoon to give investors time to prepare for the transaction given that the issuer had not been in the market for some time – Danske Bank’s last euro benchmark was in February 2013.

Danske had considered tapping the market last month, around the time that Swedbank Mortgage priced a new issue in the middle of May, but a weakening of market conditions prompted the issuer to wait until it this week felt the environment was supportive enough for a deal, according to Peter Holm, senior vice president, group treasury, Danske Bank.

“The market now is not as constructive as when we were looking at the time of Swedbank’s issue, but it has become stronger,” he said, adding that accessing the market before an European Central Bank meeting tomorrow (Thursday) was not a key driver.

“You always have news coming to the market and we knew the market was constructive, so you have to act on what you know,” he said.

Swedbank’s deal was a Eu1bn seven year that came at 8bp over on 14 May.

Danske’s new issue was priced at 13bp over mid-swaps on the back of more than Eu1.5bn of orders. Leads Crédit Agricole, Commerzbank, Danske, Natixis and UniCredit went out with initial price thoughts of the mid to high teens and then set guidance at the 15bp over area. The majority of orders were not spread sensitive, according to a lead syndicate banker, which allowed the deal to be priced at the tight end of guidance.

Holm said that the issuer is satisfied with the transaction.

“All in all we achieved the targets we had set ourselves,” he said. “It was a good deal. We were aiming for 13bp, the order book built quite quickly and we could tighten the pricing.”

He suggested that in a stronger market like that of some two weeks ago the issuer would have been able to go out with IPTs closer to the final targeted pricing, but said that the choice of mid to high teens on yesterday’s deal was part of the typical price discovery process.

Some 95 accounts were in the order book. Germany and Austria took 53%, the Benelux 12%, France 8%, the UK & Ireland 8%, Nordics 7%, southern Europe 7%, Asia 2%, and eastern Europe 2%.

Banks were allocated 56%, asset managers 16%, central banks and agencies 12%, insurance companies and pension funds 10%, and others 6%.