Caris new Label adviser, CIBC enlists, Valiant in ECBC
The Covered Bond Label has seen two additions in the run-up to next week’s ECBC plenary, welcoming Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) as the 104th issuer to sign up and Banque Pictet’s Anne Caris as a new market representative.
Caris, senior credit analyst, finance/teasury at Banque Pictet & Cie SA, had joined the Covered Bond Label Advisory Council.
“We are very pleased to welcome Anne Caris, from Banque Pictet & Cie SA, to the Covered Bond Label Advisory Council at this crucial time for the industry,” said Luca Bertalot, Covered Bond Label administrator and secretary general of the EMF-ECBC. “In light of the current debate on the future Covered Bond Directive, it is very important to ensure that all perspectives are considered, with a special focus on covered bond investors.
“Anne’s background and expertise in this field is a valuable addition to the Covered Bond Label Advisory Council and will undoubtedly support its work, playing a significant role in further enriching the debate amongst global covered bond stakeholders.”
CIBC had signed up to the Label, becoming the sixth Canadian covered bond issuer to do so.
“Welcoming Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as the latest addition to the growing family of Canadian issuers continues the commitment demonstrated at the 27th ECBC Plenary Meeting in Vancouver in April and brings Canadian issuers holding the Covered Bond Label to over 84% of the Canadian market,” said Bertalot.
“The Covered Bond Label is gaining momentum both globally and throughout North America as the commitment to maximum transparency by implementing the Harmonised Transparency Template (HTT) is continuously increasing.”
The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) – which created the Label in 2012 – has also welcomed a new member, with Switzerland’s Valiant Bank having joined the industry body.
“Having launched our Swiss contractual covered bond programme last year, we are very happy to be accepted as a member of the ECBC and to join the European covered bond community,” said Marco Brück, head of treasury/ALM at Valiant Bank. “We are looking forward to a productive relationship and to exciting personal interaction with other members.”
The ECBC will hold its 28th plenary on Wednesday in Munich, with the Euromoney/ECBC Global Covered Bond Congress taking place the following day.
The events are expected to dampen covered bond issuance next week.
“If issuers want to come to the market, they will likely do so at the start of the week,” said Joost Beaumont, senior fixed income strategist at ABN Amro. “But it could well be that they prefer to wait for the last two weeks of September, after having sensed overall market sentiment and having met investors in Munich.”
At the time of writing, only one deal had been announced for next week, an inaugural euro benchmark covered bond for Raiffeisenlandesbank Vorarlberg, which completed a roadshow yesterday and said today (Friday) that it expects to issue a seven year deal early next week.
Photo: Anne Caris