Crédit Agricole Cariparma sold the tightest benchmark Italian covered bond since the collapse of Lehman today (Monday), a Eu750m long eight year OBG that was priced at 15bp and flat to fair value on the back of some Eu1bn of orders, with the issuer now trading closer to some of its tighter compatriots.

Leads BBVA, Crédit Agricole and Mediobanca launched the Eu750m no-grow January 2026 obbligazioni bancarie garantite (OBG) with initial price thoughts of the 20bp over mid-swaps area this morning. Guidance was then set at the 17bp area, plus or minus 2bp will price within range, on the back of around Eu1bn of orders, including Eu50m joint lead manager interest. The spread was later fixed at 15bp.

The deal is the tightest new benchmark OBG since the collapse of Lehman, according to syndicate bankers at the leads. It was priced 1bp inside the previous record holder, a Eu1bn short eight year for Cariparma in September 2015.

“A spread objective was set from the outset, and we therefore capped the size with a Eu750m no-grow wording – adding a scarcity element,” said a syndicate banker at one of the leads.

The final spread was seen as offering no new issue premium, with bankers at and away from the leads citing Cariparma September 2024s at 13bp, mid, March 2025s at 14bp, and March 2029s at 17bp. Bankers at the leads noted the deal was therefore priced well inside the bid side of the issuer’s curve.

The last benchmark OBG was a Eu750m 12 year issue for Mediobanca on 17 November. The deal was priced at 27bp over mid-swaps and seen at around 22bp, mid, today.

The leads also cited as a comparable UBI Banca October 2027s, at 12.5bp, mid.

The lead syndicate banker noted that Cariparma now trades much tighter to its Italian peers than it has historically, adding, “the sponsorship of the French CASA Group is paying off in terms of valuation”.

The new issue is Cariparma’s second benchmark OBG offering of the year, following a Eu1.5bn dual tranche, eight and 12 year deal in March.

That was the first Italian benchmark of 2017, and issuance has remained limited since, with only four more benchmarks following to take year-to-date OBG supply to Eu5.75bn, including today’s deal.

“Overall peripheral supply has been quite limited, meaning that even this late in the year there is still a lot of demand around for a deal like this,” said a syndicate banker away from the leads. “In that context Cariparma is a good name to bring to the market, being a familiar issuer and part of the Crédit Agricole group, while also having a good double-A covered bond rating.”