A Blistering Pace in 1Q22
It was a notable first quarter for Canadian covered bond issuers: 19 issuances across dollars, sterling and euros
[see the table below]. All six of the major Canadian banks issued bonds. On a Canadian dollar equivalence basis, the banks issued C$38.7 billion. Continuing a trend set last year, the Canadians represented 20% of covered bond offerings for the quarter — punching well above their weight.
This activity is probably partly attributable to the heavy retained issuance by the banks at the start of the pandemic in March and April 2020, when nearly C$90 billion was taken to the central bank for funding. This was the inaugural covered bond repo program by the central bank. Issuance limits were temporarily increased at the time to support the central bank program and provide enhanced liquidity to the banks. Most of those covered bonds had two year maturities and are running off this year.
| Pricing |
Issuer |
Series |
Cur. |
(mm) |
Coupon |
Maturity |
Tenor |
Spread |
Type |
| 2022-03-30 |
National Bank of Canada |
CBL18 |
$ |
1250 |
2.900 |
2027-04-06 |
5yr |
+65 |
144A |
| 2022-03-29 |
Bank of Montreal |
CBL28 |
€ |
1750 |
1.000 |
2027-04-05 |
5yr |
+8 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-17 |
Toronto-Dominion Bank |
CBL34 |
€ |
2500 |
0.864 |
2027-03-24 |
5yr |
+11 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-17 |
Royal Bank of Canada |
CB69 |
€ |
150 |
1.296 |
2037-03-24 |
15yr |
+15 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-17 |
Royal Bank of Canada |
CB70 |
$ |
1500 |
2.600 |
2027-03-24 |
5yr |
+65 |
144A |
| 2022-03-15 |
Royal Bank of Canada |
CB68 |
€ |
2000 |
0.625 |
2026-03-25 |
4yr |
+9 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-08 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
CBL42 |
€ |
2000 |
0.450 |
2026-03-16 |
5yr |
+10 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-03 |
CIBC |
CBL40 |
$ |
100 |
SOFR+45 |
2025-03-10 |
3yr |
+45 |
144A |
| 2022-03-03 |
CIBC |
CBL39 |
€ |
2500 |
0.375 |
2026-03-10 |
4yr |
+6 |
Reg S |
| 2022-03-02 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
CBL41 |
$ |
2250 |
2.170 |
2027-03-09 |
5yr |
+58 |
144A |
| 2022-03-02 |
Bank of Montreal |
CBL27 |
£ |
600 |
SONIA+40 |
2027-03-09 |
5yr |
+40 |
Reg S |
| 2022-02-02 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
CBL36-2 |
€ |
100 |
0.623 |
2041-10-15 |
20yr |
+16 |
Reg S |
| 2022-02-01 |
FCDQ |
CBL14 |
€ |
750 |
0.250 |
2027-02-08 |
5yr |
+5 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-20 |
National Bank of Canada |
CBL17 |
€ |
1000 |
0.125 |
2027-01-27 |
5yr |
+5 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-19 |
Bank of Montreal |
CBL26 |
€ |
2750 |
0.125 |
2027-01-26 |
5yr |
+6 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-18 |
Royal Bank of Canada |
CB67 |
€ |
2000 |
0.125 |
2027-01-25 |
5.25yr |
+6 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-17 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
CBL39 |
£ |
1300 |
SONIA+100 |
2026-01-26 |
4yr |
+28 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-17 |
Bank of Nova Scotia |
CBL40 |
€ |
1250 |
0.375 |
2030-03-26 |
8yr |
+10 |
Reg S |
| 2022-01-11 |
CIBC |
CBL38 |
$ |
2500 |
1.846 |
2027-01-19 |
5yr |
+48 |
144A/Reg S |