---
title: "SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update"
url: https://www.helaba.com/en/ssas-and-financials-weekly-market-update-16
type: dd_research
language: en
updated: 2026-09-28
keywords: Renten, Weekly Market Update_englisch
---

# SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update

Focus on: SSAs & Financials 7 March 2024 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 1 of 7 Research & Advisory Weekly Market Update Primary market environment: The DAX is treading water after recent record highs. As expected, the ECB left interest rates unchanged today. In the US, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is concerned that cutting rates too soon could jeopardise progress on inflation. According to the US Beige Book, the economy has picked up slightly. The primary market environment remains supportive. The fluctuations in the colour scheme of our heat map continue. Temporary improvements have been short-lived and the current shift into the red zone indicates a moderate widening of spreads. Primary market barometer The backdrop has changed little re- cently. Due to today's ECB meeting, primary market activity focused on the first half of the week. Notable was the rise in the 2054 bond issued by the Federal Republic of Germany with an order book of EUR 74bn. Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank made a clear statement in the primary market with a EUR 5.5bn issue and an order book of EUR 11bn. However, the week's other issues also saw strong demand. Unsurprisingly, activity remained rela- tively low this week due to the ECB meeting. Next week's Fed meeting is likely to have a further dampening ef- fect before the primary market picks up noticeably in this area. Covered Bonds Senior Unsecured SSAs Risk trend indicator (heat map): Pessimists have the upper hand Relative\* ASW spread change \* ASW levels standardized and 2T-smoothed Sources: LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory IBOXX EURO 1 day 1 week 4 week 13 weeks 52 weeks 104 weeks Germany 0,02 0,23 0,60 1,08 1,64 3,85 European Union 0,03 0,24 0,24 0,58 1,13 3,31 Germany Covered 0,03 0,09 0,33 0,97 2,61 3,33 EU Covered 0,02 0,11 0,12 0,41 1,78 3,16 Banks senior preferred 0,01 0,13 -0,08 -0,19 0,40 0,67 Banks senior bail-in (SNP) 0,02 0,13 -0,17 -0,28 -0,12 0,21 Banks subordinated 0,00 0,16 -0,12 -0,27 -0,19 -0,05 Supranational 0,05 0,23 0,27 0,58 1,27 3,30 Agencies 0,03 0,21 0,33 0,68 1,73 3,76 Sub-Sovereigns Germany 0,04 0,13 0,18 0,36 0,96 0,74 Sub-Sovereigns 0,05 0,30 0,30 0,54 1,24 2,13 strong middle weak unchanged weak middle strong spread widening\* spread tightening\* Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 2 of 7 SSAs The situation in the SSA segment has changed little of late. The hoped-for bottoming out of second- ary spreads has once again failed to materialise and €-denominations fell a further basis point against swaps over the course of the week. Although the general wave of supply continues to ease, there is still a lack of follow-on buying in the secondary market to clear the now full trading books in the long term. By far the largest transaction of the week was the EUR 6bn increase in the 2054 Bund of the Federal Republic of Germany (final order book: EUR 74bn). Also successful on Tuesday were the Free State of Saxony with a 6-year issue (EUR 500m, WNG) and Polish bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego with a benchmark dual tranche (EUR 1bn, 8 years, EUR 1bn, 15 years). One day later, the State of Berlin took advantage of favourable market conditions to increase the size of its May 2028 bond and place a new 30-year state bond (EUR 1.25bn). The long tranche with a spread of MS +72bp was particularly sought after by investors. Outlook: The outlook remains cautious, but we expect further offerings next week. The main focus is likely to be on the ESM, which has already issued RFPs (Request for Propo-sals) for upcoming transactions. The next EU syndi- cated issue is scheduled for 18-22 March. Covered Bonds Italy's Crédit Agricole (CA) and Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) opened the primary covered bond market on Monday. CA's EUR 1bn issue was in high demand despite its long 12-year tenor and was ultimately 3.4 times oversubscribed. The high spread of MS +85bp may have played a role. TD issued the larg- est covered euro benchmark bond since the financial crisis with a volume of EUR 5.5bn, divided into one floating rate and two fixed rate tranches. The bookbuilding was also historic at over EUR 11 billion. The 5-year fixed-rate bond started at MS +51 bp and the 10-year bond at MS +63 bp. The spreads were finally set at MS +43 bp and MS +56 bp respectively. This was followed on Tuesday by three more successful issues from BayernLB (EUR 500m, 4 years, WNG), DNB Boligkreditt (EUR 1.25bn, 5 years) and Austria's Erste Bank (EUR 1bn, 10 years short). In the case of Erste Bank, the issuer was able to reduce the original spread target from MS +60bp to MS +55bp due to low spread-sensitive demand. Banks and asset managers contributed significantly to the success of the transaction, ensuring a granular and internationally diversified order book. Commerzbank was another issuer to opt for a long Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 2,750% Sachsen - /AAA/- 0,500bn 12.03.2030 ms +8 bps 05.03.2024 0,575bn ms + 8 area 4,034% Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego A2 /-/A- 1,000bn 13.03.2032 ms +150 bps 06.03.2024 2,400bn ms +160bp area 4,375% Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego A2 /-/A- 1,000bn 13.03.2039 ms +185 bps 06.03.2024 2,400bn ms +205bp area 3,000% Berlin Aa1 /-/AAA 0,500bn 04.05.2028 ms -9 bps 26.04.2023 0,430bn ms - 9 area 3,000% Berlin Aa1 /AAA/AAA 1,250bn 13.03.2054 ms +72 bps 06.03.2024 1,900bn ms + 73 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € SSAs issues week of 4 March 2024 „The dynamic demand for primary and secondary covered bonds continues unabated. In some cases, the order books for new issues are reaching levels that we have not seen for a long time. Driven primarily by in- ternational investors, many new issues are being launched with a NIP of zero. The "party" then continues with a performance of up to 8 basis points in the days following pricing. In view of this dynamic, it is also in- creasingly possible to conquer the territory beyond the 10-year mark (Soc Gen 02/36, BPCE 02/36, CARPP 03/36), although in the case of the latter bond it should be noted that there is currently strong demand for paper from the periphery. Bonds from Canada and the Scandinavian region are also very popular these Days”. Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 3 of 7 10-year tenor on Wednesday. With a bookbuilding of EUR 1.85bn, the benchmark (EUR 1bn) was priced 6bp tighter than the marketing at MS + 38bp. Outlook: Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC), a Korean issuer (see also our publication "APAC Covered Bonds: Popular securities, limited supply"), is in the starting blocks with a 3-5 year social covered bond. We also assume that other issuers will want to take advantage of the constructive environment in view of the recent issu- ing successes. Senior Unsecured Issuance in the senior unsecured segment was relatively modest this week, hardly surprising given the wait-and-see attitude ahead of today's ECB meeting. In the senior preferred segment, there were two EUR 500m issues - from SR-Bank and Commerzbank. The maturities were slightly shorter than in previous weeks at 5 and 3 years. The transactions were 3 and 4 times oversubscribed respectively. In the senior non-preferred segment, a total of EUR 1.5bn was issued. Of particular note was Banco Sabadell's EUR 500m 6.5NC5.5 Green SNP. The order book for this transaction was almost 10 times oversubscribed. The spread tightened by almost 40bps during the bookbuilding. The spread tightened further in the subsequent sec- ondary market. Outlook: Next week's FED meeting is likely to have a further dampening effect on issuance. However, the following two weeks should see a pick-up in activity, given the high volume of maturities this year, before the Easter holiday brings activity back down. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3mE + 42 bp Toronto-Dominion Bank Aaa /-/AAA 2,000bn 16.02.2027 ms +35 bps 04.03.2024 4,250bn 3mE + 42 area 3,191% Toronto-Dominion Bank Aaa /-/AAA 2,500bn 16.02.2029 ms +43 bps 04.03.2024 5,000bn ms + 51 area 3,247% Toronto-Dominion Bank Aaa /-/AAA 1,000bn 16.02.2034 ms +56 bps 04.03.2024 1,900bn ms + 63 area 3,500% Credit Agricole Italia Aa3 /-/- 1,000bn 11.03.2036 ms +85 bps 04.03.2024 4,600bn ms + 90 area 2,875% Bayerische Landesbank Aaa /-/- 0,500bn 13.11.2028 ms +22 bps 05.03.2024 1,000bn ms + 28 area 3,125% Erste Group Bank AG Aaa /-/- 1,000bn 12.12.2033 ms +55 bps 05.03.2024 1,700bn ms +60 area 2,875% DNB Boligkreditt AS Aaa /AAA/- 1,250bn 12.03.2029 ms +27 bps 05.03.2024 3,600bn ms + 34 area 3,000% Commerzbank AG Aaa // 1,000bn 13.03.2034 ms +38 bps 06.03.2024 2,300bn ms + 44 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Covered Bond issues week of 4 March 2024 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,625% SR-Bank Aa3 /-/- 0,500bn 12.03.2029 ms +90 bps 04.03.2024 1,500bn Ms +120 area 3m€ +70 bps Commerzbank AG A1 /BBB+/- 0,500bn 12.03.2027 ms +70 bps 05.03.2024 2,000bn 3m€ + 100 bp area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Preferred issues week of 4 March 2024 „Following the monthly rebalancing before the ECB meeting, 7-day flows could hardly be more mixed. While we saw constructive flows across the maturity spectrum until the end of last week, most market participants have moved to the sidelines since the beginning of this week. Selling has continued to increase in percent- age terms. Real money is mainly selling medium to long maturities. Fast money accounts are trying to grab a few cents in the short maturities with the rising futures. The few purchases have come mainly from retail desks in correspondingly small sizes, preferably in 1,000 denomination bonds." Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 4 of 7 Chart of the Week Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) launched the first is- sues of the year in this jurisdic- tion. The strong interest in the issue shows that investors have been waiting for such an offer- ing. The chart shows that since March 2023, the risk premium on Canadian covered bonds over Treasuries has fallen from around 110bp to just under 69bp, in line with the tightening of the Bund swap spread, and is thus only around one basis point above the low reached in May 2022. Overall, this is broadly in line with the market for such bonds. Nevertheless, the spreads are attractive for investors: average yields of 3.32% can be achieved in the triple-A segment and 3.54% in the short window of 1 to 2 years. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3m€ + 45 bp National Bank of Canada A3 /BBB+/A+ 1,000bn 06.03.2026 ms +45 bps 04.03.2024 1,850bn 3m€+65 area 4,250% Banco de Sabadell SA - /BBB-/BBB- 0,500bn 13.09.2030 ms +160 bps  04.03.2024 4,600bn ms + 200 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Non-preferred issues week of 4 March 2024 Risk premiums for Canadian covered bonds fall Bloomberg Covered Bond EUR CA-Index OAS vs. government bonds in bp. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 60 80 100 120 03/23 06/23 09/23 12/23 03/24 Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 5 of 7 Short news 3/5 German Banking Association on AI in banks: Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising our world and has already established itself as an indispensable tool in numerous sectors, the Associa- tion of German Banks (BdB) points out. AI is used in all areas of the value chain, from research and development to production and service, and its importance is also becoming increasingly visible in the financial sector. Hence, what structural impact will AI have on the financial sector? Read more (DE) 3/4 Spanish Banking Association on digitalisation and inclusion: "The limits of digitisation are related to con- nectivity and digital skills, which the European authorities are committed to addressing. But they are not alone. For example, the banking sector is spending significant resources on both financial education and improving the digital literacy of all kinds of groups. Each at their own pace, as in the case of the elderly, to ensure that the objec- tive is achieved: to unite and not to separate", says José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association (AEB). 3/1 ESRB on market liquidity of interest rate swaps: This European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) paper exam- ines market liquidity in interest rate swaps (IRS) before and during the global tightening of monetary policy. IRS constitute the single largest derivatives segment globally. Banks and Pension Funds extensively rely on IRS to hedge interest rate risk. Hence, providing an understanding of this market and the drivers of market liquidity is a key research question in the current market context. \* Closing prices from the previous day Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory Market Data (current\*, vs. 1 week, vs. 4 weeks) E-STOXX 600 Banks 178 2,06% 6,23% iBoxx € Cov. Germany 30,1 0,9 2,8 iTraxx Senior Financial 62,4 -2,6 -9,3 10Yr-Yield 2,33 -0,13 0,03 iBoxx € Cov. Bonds 37,5 1,2 1,4 iBoxx € Supranational 33,7 2,7 3,6 Swap 10J 2,62 -0,17 -0,09 iBoxx € Banks PS 81,7 3,3 -1,8 iBoxx € Agencies 17,9 1,8 3,3 iBoxx € Germany -16,73 3,62 9,45 iBoxx Banks NPS 103,2 3,8 -4,9 iBoxx € Sub-Sov. Germany 25,0 2,1 3,4 iBoxx € EU 41,36 3,25 3,86 iBoxx Banks Subordinated 167,3 6,7 -5,6 iBoxx € Sub-Sovereign 41,5 3,3 3,9 Leisure tip for the weekend: Sneaker exhibition, NRW Forum, Düsseldorf Do you have ideas for leisure tips? We would be happy to receive your suggestions at research@helaba.de. Sources: www.nrw-forum.de/en/exhibitions/sneaker Today there is a real hype around sneakers, which is the focus of the main part of the exhibition. There are collaborations with stars and artists, inter- national brands and designers such as Salehe Bembury, Ruohan Wang and Virgil Abloh. The sneakers are collected worldwide and can cost thousands of euros. As well as futuristic designs, the final section of the exhibition will feature sneakers with innovative technologies such as self-lacing or 3D printing. Find out more: Sneaker exhibition Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 6 of 7 Chartbook SSAs, Covered Bonds, Senior Unsecured Senior Unsecured: Primary volumes Senior Unsecured: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2023 Senior Non-preferred 2023 Senior Preferred 2024 Senior Preferred 2024 Senior Non-preferred 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 01/24 03/24 Banks Subordinated Banks Senior Bail-in Banks Senior Preferred Covered Bonds: Primary volumes Covered Bonds: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2023 2022 2024 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 01/24 03/24 EUR Covered Covered Germany SSAs: Primary volumes SSAs: Spread development EUR benchmark issue volume cumulative by weeks, bn EUR ASW spread, bp Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Sources: LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 2022 2024 2023 -10 0 10 20 30 40 -10 0 10 20 30 40 03/23 05/23 07/23 09/23 11/23 01/24 03/24 Sub-Sovereigns Agencies Supranationals Sub-Sovereigns Germany Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 7 March 2024 7 of 7 News from Research & Advisory  Focus on Covered Bonds: APAC Covered Bonds: "Popular securities, limited supply"  Focus on Credit – MayorEuropean Banks: Heading into 2024 with strong credit risk buffers  Focus on: Credit - Primary market update bank bonds  Focus on: Credit – Primary market update corporate bonds  Focus on: Credit – Primary market update Schuldschein  Focus on: Credit – European banks: The sharpening contours of ESG disclosure  Markets & Trends 2024 – Global economy in a transition game Please feel free to contact us Publisher and editorial office Helaba Research & Advisory Editor: Stefan Rausch Corporate Research & Advisory Responsible: Dr. Gertrud R. Traud Chefvolkswirtin/ Head of Research & Advisory Neue Mainzer Str. 52-58 60311 Frankfurt am Main T +49 69 / 91 32 – 20 24 Internet: www.helaba.com Disclaimer This publication has been prepared with the greatest care. However, it contains only non-binding analyses and forecasts of current and future market conditions. The information is based on sources which we consider to be reliable, but for whose accuracy, completeness or up-to-dateness we cannot assume any liability. All state- ments made in this publication are for information purposes only. They must not be understood as an offer or recommendation for investment de- cisions. Here you can subscribe to our newsletter: https://news.helaba.de/research/ Dr. Susanne Knips Senior Credit Analyst T 069/91 32-32 11 Sabrina Miehs, CESGA Head of FI & SSA Research Senior Advisor Sustainable Finance T 069/91 32-48 90 Christian Schmidt Covered Bond & SSA Analyst T 069/91 32-23 88

SSAs: Backdrop little changed. Covered bonds: Canada's TD Bank sends a clear signal. Senior Unsecured: Constructive sentiment. Chart of the week: Canadian Covered Bond spreads fall.