Danske is seeking consent to switch Danske Bank plc covered bonds in Finland to a new entity, Danske Mortgage Bank plc. A plan by UniCredit to change from Fitch to Moody’s for its OBG II programme has meanwhile been approved at an adjourned meeting.

Danske flagged the possible Finnish move in February and is now aiming to complete the transfer of its Finnish covered bond business from the previous issuer, Danske Bank plc, to the new entity on or around 1 October, according to Moody’s, which today (Tuesday) said would not affect the Aaa rating of the covered bonds.

The rating agency said the covered bond rating is linked to the credit strength of Danske Bank A/S of Denmark, which will be the parent of Danske Mortgage Bank plc.

“This is because Danske Bank A/S will establish a liquidity line for the benefit of the new issuer to ensure the new issuer has sufficient funds to meet its payment obligations under the currently existing covered bonds,” it said. “In addition, covered bondholders will benefit from a secondary right of recourse against Danske Bank plc for any missing amounts after recourse to the cover pool.”

Covered bondholders can receive a 10bp early participation fee if they vote in favour of the resolution by 18 May, according to Maureen Schuller, head of financials research at ING.

UniCredit meanwhile on 21 April passed at an adjourned meeting a resolution allowing it to switch from Fitch to Moody’s in its obbligazioni bancarie garantite (OBG) II programme, according to a notice published on Thursday. An initial, 4 April meeting was inquorate.

Analysts had noted that UniCredit could have been able to vote through the changes via retained issuance, which constitutes Eu10.25bn of Eu12.75bn of bonds outstanding off the programme, but the lack of a quorum at the first meeting (which had a 50% requirement) and votes reflecting Eu119.7m of holdings at the adjourned meeting suggest the Italian bank did not take advantage of this. All votes cast were in favour of the resolution, while a further Eu8.2m of holdings represented at the meeting abstained. The exercise did not offer participation fees.

A covered bond banker said that the process compared well to other situations where raters have been dropped or switched without any consent or consultation, and that by at least not voting with its bonds in the first round, UniCredit had given the market a chance to voice any concerns.