The successful sale of a $500 million covered bond by Korea Housing Finance Corporation on July 15 could mark the start of a new issuance trend in Korea, according to the firm’s chief executive, Joo-Jae Lim. In a statement immediately after the bond’s pricing, he said that "[the issuer] has now opened the doors for itself and other Korean institutions to access the international covered bond markets." Some market participants, however, question how much benefit the issuer got from the structure, given that it priced along similar lines to comparable straight bonds....
