Royal Bank of Canada has signed up to the Covered Bond Label, becoming the first Canadian issuer to do so, and RBC’s David Power said the move helps emphasise strong Canadian disclosure practices, as the initiative continues to expand globally.

The Covered Bond Label Foundation announced RBC’s joining of the initiative today (Tuesday), stating that the expansion “strengthens the Label’s reach outside European markets”.

“We are delighted to welcome Royal Bank of Canada on board,” said Luca Bertalot, EMF-ECBC secretary general and Covered Bond Label Foundation administrator. “The support of the Canadian covered bond community for the Label shows that there is strong demand for transparency and convergence in covered bond markets in Europe and beyond, and underpins the global importance of the Covered Bond Label Initiative.”

The Covered Bond Label Foundation noted that Canada becomes the 16th jurisdiction to be represented in the Label and that RBC is the first North American issuer to join.

David Power, vice president, corporate treasury at RBC, told The Covered Bond Report that RBC is joining the Label initiative “as it helps to emphasize the strong Canadian covered bond disclosure practices, while facilitating comparisons with the covered bonds of other issuers”.

“This can be particularly helpful for new or smaller covered bond investors who are looking for comparable programme overviews,” he added.

As of 1 January, all issuers signed up for the Label must disclose data through the Harmonised Transparency Template (HTT).