December 2006

Covered bonds: HBOS scores direct US hit

Over the years various European names have sold dollar bonds using global formats aiming to find non-European buyers. However, few have had much success in the US. This relative failure has been put down to various factors including the lack of familiarity with the concept of covered bonds and an insular outlook among the investor base. But there has already been evidence that things are changing.


In early November, Essenhyp sold $1.25 billion of five-year bonds, via Bear Stearns, Dresdner Kleinwort and Goldman Sachs, and got 55% to US investors. Previously all borrowers, including Depfa, that had tried the dollar global or 144a route had failed to get a majority of the paper to the US.

All of these previous explorations...


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