Bank of Nova Scotia is marketing its first SEC-registered covered bond today (Thursday), a five year deal, after having filed a related US prospectus just over two weeks ago. The transaction comes two days after NAB re-opened the US dollar market.

Leads Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNS, Barclays, Citi and HSBC have set initial price talk at the high 20s to 30bp over mid-swaps. National Australia Bank priced a $1.25bn (Eu960m) five year at 33bp over mid-swaps on Tuesday, only the third US-targeted deal of the year and the first since June.

Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia filed a covered bond prospectus with the Securities & Exchange Commission on 20 August, under a registration statement it filed at the end of May last year. It becomes only the second issuer to publicly offer covered bonds in the US, after Royal Bank of Canada, which was the first to do so and has since sold several deals in the format, which expands the potential investor base for issuance and renders it eligible for major indices and brings with it associated pricing benefits.

Other foreign issuers selling dollar covered bonds to US investors have done so in the private placement market, via the 144A format.

This year Bank of Nova Scotia has been active in the euro benchmark market, selling a Eu1bn five year at 9bp over mid-swaps that was its inaugural legislative issue. The last Canadian issuer to have sold a US dollar issue was RBC, which priced a $2bn five year at 43bp over in September 2013.