CBPP3 settlements registered last week show the Eurosystem to have recently been heavily focused on the primary market, with secondary buying falling to its lowest since mid-January, according to analysts, despite the ECB’s orders for certain recent trades being below expectations.

ECB figures released yesterday (Monday) show the CBPP3 portfolio increased EUR176m, from EUR249.571bn to EUR249.747bn, in the week to last Friday. Figures released this afternoon show that around EUR1bn of holdings in the CBPP3 portfolio matured last week, implying gross purchases of around EUR1.176bn.

This is up from EUR988m of gross purchases in the previous week, and compares to the average of around EUR1.306bn per week so far this year.

Last week, EUR3.25bn of CBPP3-eligible issuance settled, across five transactions: a EUR500m seven year issue for BayernLB, EUR1bn five year and EUR500m 10 year deals for Helaba, a EUR750m 10 year issue for BNP Paribas Fortis, and a EUR500m 10 year for WL Bank.

Distribution statistics show that central banks and official institutions took 32% of BayernLB’s EUR500m issue, 52% of Helaba’s EUR1bn five year issue and 44% of its EUR500m 10 year. Central banks and official institutions were allocated 26% of BNP Paribas Fortis’s EUR750m deal, while distribution statistics were not disclosed for WL Bank’s deal.

Analysts estimate the Eurosystem bought a combined EUR1bn-EUR1.1bn of the five deals.

Maureen Schuller, head of financials research at ING, said the available statistics suggest that the Eurosystem was “heavily targeting the primary market rather than secondary market”.

In the previous week, the Eurosystem bought EUR700m-EUR800m on the primary market, out of EUR2bn of eligible primary market settlements, analysts estimated.

Analysts estimates for last week imply that secondary market purchases averaged around EUR15m-EUR35m per day, the lowest level since the week commencing 15 January, and down from an estimated EUR37m-EUR57m per day the previous week.

WL Bank’s EUR500m 10 year issue has been one of the deals at the centre of a debate about a possible decrease in the size of the Eurosystem’s orders under CBPP3. According to syndicate bankers, the Eurosystem requested around 40% of the WL Bank trade versus typically around 50% of trades under CBPP3.

The deal – launched on 15 March, after the deals from BayernLB and Helaba and on the same day as Fortis’s trade – was priced in the middle of initial guidance, at minus 13bp, and the size of the book was not disclosed.

A EUR500m long six year issue for Aareal Bank on Tuesday of last week met a similar response, pricing in the middle of guidance with the final book reported at EUR500m, including EUR60m joint lead manager interest, and again the ECB’s order is understood to have been for around 40% of the deal.

No other CBPP3-eligible trades have been priced since, and analysts stressed that conclusions could not yet be drawn.

Aareal’s deal will settle today (Tuesday) and will be the only CBPP3-eligible deal to settle this week. Central banks and official institutions were allocated 46% of the EUR500m deal.