DBS’s Colin Chen has been nominated as chairman of a new global issues working group of the ECBC, which held a meeting in Singapore yesterday (Monday), just a few days after the launch of the first covered bond from UOB, the first issuer to have adopted the Label harmonised transparency template.

Colin Chen is managing director and head of structured debt solutions at DBS Bank, which opened the Singaporean covered bond market in July 2015, and also chairman of the standing committee on covered bonds of the Association of Banks in Singapore. His appointment is subject to confirmation at a European Covered Bond Council steering committee meeting on 13 April in Copenhagen.

Luca Bertalot, secretary general of the EMF-ECBC, described the meeting as an important step forward for the industry body, as the first to include representatives of both global and European institutions. He said that the meeting addressed three key issues: covered bonds within the context of the Basel framework; how convergence can be achieved in covered bonds globally; and what can be done to help countries newly implementing covered bond frameworks.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) last month became the first issuer to adopt the Covered Bond Label harmonised transparency template, an initiative led by the ECBC, and the Singaporean bank launched its first covered bond and the first in euros from an Asian issuer last Wednesday, a Eu500m five year deal.

Lee Wai Fai, UOB chief financial officer, said the success of the euro-denominated issue paves the way for other financial institutions in Asia to tap the covered bond investor base in Europe.

“Despite the current volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets, UOB’s covered bonds garnered strong investor interest, showing the confidence that global investors have in the sovereign standing of Singapore as well as the fundamentals of the country’s economy and housing market,” he said. “It also reflects the financial strength of UOB and the quality of mortgage loans that the bank originates.”

Some 75 investors, predominantly European, participated, according to the bank.

Lee said the issuance of covered bonds is an extension of the bank’s “disciplined” funding strategy, which he described as “the foundation of its stable growth through the decades”.

“At UOB,” he added, “we have always believed in planning well ahead for the future in order to build a sustainable franchise. The inclusion of covered bonds in the bank’s funding mix will ensure we maintain a solid funding base to support our customers through business cycles.”