Covered bond supply will likely be limited to opportunistic trades and smaller taps this week, according to bankers, following a resurgence in supply and with the quarter-end and non-farm payrolls approaching, although wider market conditions are deemed supportive.

No benchmark supply emerged from financial institutions today (Tuesday) as market participants returned from an extended Easter break, with the market having closed from Friday.

“It’s all quiet on every front,” said a syndicate official. “People are getting back from the long holiday and are reassessing where we stand.”

Bankers added that the lack of activity was not a result of wider market conditions, noting that the markets had opened positively, with European equities up this morning and credit indices stable, after they had closed on a weaker tone on Thursday.

“There’s not much going on, but it’s so far, so good,” said one.

The banker added that some negative headlines had the potential to disrupt the market today, such as the hijacking of an Egyptian flight this morning, but said the market had proved resilient.

“There’s a few headlines that aren’t helpful, the hijacking in particular, but there hasn’t been a material impact,” he said.

Euro benchmark covered bond supply totals Eu17.35bn this month, while year-to-date supply of Eu64.35bn makes this the busiest first quarter since 2011, and some bankers said that with the quarter-end approaching issuers and investors will now likely take the opportunity to take a break.

“It’s not a surprise there is no deal today, as it has been a very busy month and at the quarter-end I don’t think anyone is too desperate to do business,” said a syndicate official. “Therefore I don’t expect we’ll see much activity this week.

“It’s only Tuesday and there are probably two more good business days to go, so you can’t rule anything out, but I suspect people will take the opportunity to spend the rest of the week housekeeping and restart the game on Monday.”

Another banker agreed, noting that the announcement of US non-farm payrolls on Friday could also shape sentiment, with market participants awaiting the announcement for hints of the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike.

“I think there will be bits and pieces, perhaps a couple of taps,” he said, “but I would expect most of the activity to kick off again next week, after the start of the new quarter.”

Another syndicate official said, however, that some issuers could take advantage of the stable conditions and clear pipeline to get deals done in the coming days.

“Never say never,” he said. “There is not an obvious, public pipeline but I would still expect some supply.”