BNP Paribas Fortis is set to launch its first benchmark covered bond, a euro issue with an intermediate to long maturity, after having announced a roadshow for next week, and has also become the first Belgian issuer to sign up to the Covered Bond Label.

BNP Paribas Fortis announced a mandate this (Thursday) morning for investor meetings on Monday and Tuesday of next week, ahead of a potential euro benchmark mortgage Pandbrieven with an intermediate to long maturity. ABN Amro, Banca IMI, BNP Paribas, Danske and Santander have the mandate.

The Belgian BNP Paribas subsidiary received an initial license to establish a covered bond programme in February. The programme’s prospectus was approved by the regulator over the summer while rating agencies completed their analyses of the programme, according to a banker close to the matter.

The last benchmark covered bond from Belgium was a Eu1bn 10 year issue for Belfius Bank that was priced at 6bp through mid-swaps on 7 September.

The new issuer will join Belfius, KBC and ING Belgium in the Belgian market, although representatives of BNP Paribas Fortis have been involved in the development of the Belgian covered bond framework since it was initially drafted.

Moody’s assigned a provisional Aaa rating to the mortgage Pandbrieven of BNP Paribas Fortis this morning. The total value of the assets in the cover pool is approximately Eu757.8m as of 31 August, according to the rating agency. The expected overcollateralisation in the cover pool is 51.6%, above the minimum OC level consistent with the Aaa rating of 13.0%

The covered bonds are also expected to be rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s, according to BNP Paribas Fortis.

The Covered Bond Label Foundation announced today that BNP Paribas Fortis has signed up to the Covered Bond Label, making it the first issuer to do so from the EMF-ECBC’s home country of Belgium.

“The fact that the Covered Bond Label continues to gain ground in new countries, such as Belgium, shows that issuers and investors around the world see the added value of the improved due diligence and transparency that the Label can provide,” said Luca Bertalot, secretary general of the EMF-ECBC.