---
title: "SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update"
url: https://www.helaba.com/en/ssas-and-financials-weekly-market-update-34
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 12 October 2023 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 1 of 7 Research & Advisory Weekly Market Update Primary market environment: The conflict in the Middle East is escalating, however, the capital markets have so far shown little interest. The Federal Reserve has recently made it clear that in- terest rate decisions are data dependent. Sentiment in the covered bond segment is mixed. Investors' appetite for risk has fallen sharply of late. There is no end in sight to this trend, as shown by the deep red colouring of our heat map.. Primary market barometer Primary market activity in the SSA segment is struggling to gain trac- tion, although the environment re- mains broadly constructive. Issuer pricing continues to play an im- portant role. The short-term improvement in pri- mary market sentiment was actively used by issuers this week to imple- ment their issuance plans. Issuance totalled EUR 4 billion, up from EUR 1 billion the previous week. As expected, there was little activity in the primary market for senior unse- cured bank bonds this week, ahead of the quarterly reporting season. How- ever, Banco Santander impressed with a double tranche of EUR 3.25bn. Alt- hough the market environment is re- ceptive, the blackout period argues against increasing acitivity. Covered Bonds Senior Unsecured SSAs Risk trend indicator (heat map): Risk aversion remains high Relative\* ASW spread change \* ASW levels standardized and 2T-smoothed Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory IBOXX EURO 1 day 1 week 4 week 13 weeks 52 weeks 104 weeks Germany 0,04 -0,11 -0,03 0,30 2,52 0,03 European Union -0,01 0,13 0,43 0,71 1,88 2,70 Germany Covered 0,03 0,29 0,58 0,86 1,98 2,19 EU Covered 0,02 0,17 0,32 0,49 1,52 2,01 Banks senior preferred -0,05 0,19 0,40 0,48 -0,04 2,18 Banks senior bail-in (SNP) -0,10 0,14 0,41 0,50 -0,56 1,91 Banks subordinated -0,12 0,01 0,23 0,37 -0,92 2,38 Supranational 0,01 0,21 0,47 0,58 2,06 2,39 Agencies -0,05 0,14 0,32 0,69 2,98 1,22 Sub-Sovereigns Germany 0,02 0,17 0,18 0,19 1,21 -0,08 Sub-Sovereigns -0,01 0,23 0,41 0,50 1,73 1,10 strong middle weak unchanged weak middle strong spread widening spread tightening Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 2 of 7 SSAs Primary market activity has yet to really take off since the start of the new quarter. The EU was in the spotlight on Tuesday with a double tranche. A new EUR 4bn 20-year bond was issued and the EUR 2bn 5 October 2026 bond was increased. The new bond attracted an order book of EUR 48bn, while the in- crease was EUR 37bn. In both cases, the final spreads were 2 bps tighter than the target and the issues were there- fore considered successful. On Wednesday, Caisse des Depots et Consignations took advantage of the tailwind for a 7-year sustainability bond (EUR 500 million) and Cassa Depositi e Prestit (EUR 500 million). Both crossed the finish line with order books of EUR 1.5 billion and EUR 1.8 billion respectively. Outlook: Other issuers in the pipeline include Spain's national development bank ICO and Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris. Covered Bonds Sentiment in the covered bond segment remains mixed. The secondary market is very illiquid and spreads are widening following extensive repricing. At the same time, the primary market is function- ing relatively well. Although new issue premiums are still high, oversubscription rates reflect strong demand. On Tuesday, Caffil was able to place EUR 750m with a long 5 year maturity and a spread of MS +32bps. During the bookbuilding, the spread was tightened by 6 bps and the issue was 4.7 times oversubscribed. Nati-onale-Neder- landen Bank (NN Bank) generated an order book of EUR 1.3bn for its 3-year benchmark (EUR 750m) and tightened the spread by 4bps to MS +20bps versus the marketing, with a new issue premium of 3bps. Belfius Bank managed to raise EUR 1bn on Wednesday. The spread tightened by 5 bps to MS+32 bps on an order book of EUR 1.5 bn. Today's primary activity was completed by Achmea Bank (EUR 500 mn, 3 years, WNG), Danish Ship Finance (EUR 500 mn, 3 years, WNG) and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (EUR 500 mn, 4.5 years). Due to the uncertain market environment, issuers are coming to the market with very attractive spreads. At the same time, the "tightening potential" is being strongly exploited, especially as refinancing spreads are at a very high level. In the secondary market, we are seeing some international players who, according to our trading, are very selec- tive in their choice of securities and spread levels. "Cash is king and buyers are calling the tune. Paid levels, some- times well below the screens, are the result. Outlook: Further issues are in the pipeline, although some planned projects have already been postponed until next year. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 2,750% EU Aaa /AA+/AAA 3,000 Mrd.  05.10.2026 ms -11 Bp 10.10.2023 37,000 Mrd. ms - 9 area 4,000% EU Aaa /AA+/AAA 4,000 Mrd. 04.04.2044 ms +67 Bp 10.10.2023 48,000 Mrd. ms + 69 area 3,375% Caisse des Depots et Consignations Aa2 /AA/AA- 0,500 Mrd. 25.11.2030 FRTR +28 bp 11.10.2023 1,500 Mrd. FRTR +30 area 4,750% Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. - /BBB/BBB 0,500 Mrd. 18.10.2030 BTPS + 48 bp 11.10.2023 1,800 Mrd. BTPS + high 50s area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € SSAs issues week of 9 October 2023 "The days are getting shorter and, unfortunately, so are the events on the secondary markets. The supply pressure continues and the players involved are changing. On the one hand it is domestic funds/AMs and on the other it is insurers selling cash. The swap spreads paid are high and tend to remain so. The alignment of vintage bonds with new issue spreads continues. However, there has been no panic selling. The repricing is taking place in a relatively orderly fashion". Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 3 of 7 Senior Unsecured As expected, there was little activity in the primary market for senior unsecured bank bonds this week. Only three issuers came to market with new issues. However, the deal from Spanish market leader Banco Santander was impressive: it placed EUR 3.25bn of non-preferred paper with investors as part of a dual tranche and was well received, generating orders for a total of EUR 5.6bn. The tranches had maturities of 4 (4NC3) and 8 years. Despite record issuance so far this year (see Primary Market Update Bank Bonds of 10/10/2023), some banks still have refinancing needs, and with the upcoming blackout period for quarterly reporting and the year-end ap- proaching, the issuance windows are getting smaller. Tomorrow JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will start the reporting season for US banks, followed by European banks in the coming weeks. Particular attention should be paid to interest rate gains and problem loan ratios. Since the middle of 2012, banks have enjoyed pleasingly high profits, boosted by the changed interest rate environment, but competition for customer deposits has re- cently intensified. On the lending side, risk buffers are high and problem loan ratios are therefore very well under control. Outlook: The quarterly reporting season begins at the end of this week. We expect the senior unsecured bank bond segment to remain weak for the time being due to the upcoming blackout periods. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,625% CaFFiL Aaa /AA+/- 0,750 Mrd. 17.01.2029 ms +32 Bp  10.10.2023 3,500 Mrd. ms + 38 area 3,625% Nationale-Nederlanden Bank N.V. - /AAA/- 0,750 Mrd. 16.10.2026 ms +20 Bp 10.10.2023 1,300 Mrd. ms + 24 area 3,625% Belfius Bank SA/NV - /AAA/AAA 1,000 Mrd. 18.10.2028 ms +32 Bp 11.10.2023 1,500 Mrd. ms + 37 area 3,750% Achmea Bank N.V. - /AAA/- 0,500 Mrd. 19.10.2026 ms +26 Bp 12.10.2023 0,650 Mrd. ms + 26 area 4,086% Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Aaa /-/- 0,500 Mrd. 18.04.2028 ms +72 Bp 12.10.2023 0,600 Mrd. ms + 72 area 4,375% Danmarks Skibskredit A/S - /A/- 0,500 Mrd. 19.10.2026 ms +90 Bp 12.10.2023 0,800 Mrd. ms + 90-93 wpir Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Covered Bond issues week of 9 October 2023 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 8,625% MBH Bank Nyrt. Ba2 /-/- 0,350 Mrd. 19.10.2027 ms +514 Bp 11.10.2023 0,560 Mrd. 9.000% area 4,000% Bank of China (Luxembourg) S.A. A1 /A/A 0,300 Mrd. 19.10.2026 ms +60 Bp 12.10.2023 0,670 Mrd. ms + 80 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Preferred issues week of 9 October 2023 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4,625% Banco Santander, S.A. Baa1 /A-/A- 1,250 Mrd. 18.10.2027 ms +125 Bp 11.10.2023 2,000 Mrd. ms + 150/155 bp 4,875% Banco Santander, S.A. Baa1 /A-/A- 2,000 Mrd. 18.10.2031 ms +170 Bp 11.10.2023 3,600 Mrd. ms + 200 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Non-preferred issues week of 9 October 2023 „Primary markets have been very quiet recently, reflecting market sentiment. Most new issues widened by around 10bps. Yesterday Santander tested sentiment with a dual tranche at high IPT levels and it will be in- teresting to see how the order books look and also the secondary performance of the new bonds. The fund- ing needs of some banks remain high and issuance windows are starting to narrow due to the upcoming blackout period and the approaching end of the year.“ Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 4 of 7 Chart of the Week Bank funding from central banks has declined significantly year- on-year, as the ESRB Risk Dashboard published last week shows. According to our obser- vations, this reflects in particu- lar the reduction in TLTRO fund- ing (see also Weekly of 21 Sep- tember 2023). Due to the changed interest rate environ- ment and lower TLTRO funding, banks' funding costs are rising, but this is more than offset by significantly higher margins for both, customer deposits and li- quidity reserves. Moreover, as the sector has sufficient liquidity, it is able to reduce the less attractive central banks refinancing relatively easily - further evidence that borrowing has so far been more about taking advantage of attractive interest rate spreads than about liquidity needs. However, there are differences between institutions and countries. In Italy and Greece, for example, the stock of central bank funding is still relatively high, despite the decline. Short news 10/11 Fitch Ratings places three Spanish covered bond programmes on watch: Fitch Ratings has placed three Spanish mortgage-backed covered bond programmes (cedulas hipotecarias - CH) of Banco Santander, S.A. (Santander; A/Stable), Caja Rural de Granada, Sociedad Cooperativa de Credito (CRG) and Caja Rural de Albacete, Ciudad Real y Cuenca, Sociedad Cooperativa de Credito (Globalcaja) on Watch, following the publication of its covered bond rating criteria on 9 October 2023. 10/10 EBA risk dashboard: The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its Q2 2023 quarterly Risk Dash- board (RDB). Banks’ profitability and capital ratios increased further, while macroeconomic uncertainty weighed on loan growth. 10/10 Reserve requirements: The European Central Bank (ECB) shouldn’t change reserve requirements for banks as part of its monetary policy, Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said. “There’s no monetary justification for increasing reserve requirements,” Bloomberg cited Villeroy as saying. “The stability of the current regime should remain in place.” 10/9 EBA moves ahead with new ESG rule feared across Europe: European Banking Authority (EBA) Chairman Jose Manuel Campa commented on the green asset ratio (GAR), with mandatory disclosure set to kick in from Jan- uary. As reported by Bloomberg, Campa acknowledged that the first impression bank stakeholders will get of the green asset ratios they see will be “incomplete.” 10/5 Italy’s banks sidestepping Meloni tax with payouts intact: Italy’s banks won’t pay the country’s new tax and choose to boost their capital cushions instead, according to Bloomberg. Boosting capital “is the best option” for Italy’s banks, said Rossella Locatelli, a professor of banking and finance at the University of Insubria. Banks' refinancing with central banks noticeably declining Share of central bank funding in liabilities\* in % \* Excluding equity capital Sources: ECB, Helaba Research & Advisory Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 5 of 7 \* Closing prices from the previous day Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory Market Data (current\*, vs. 1 week, vs. 4 weeks) E-STOXX 600 Banks 163 3,57% 3,95% iBoxx € Cov. Germany 16,3 3,1 4,8 iTraxx Senior Financial 95,7 -2,6 14,6 10Yr-Yield 2,7 -0,2 0,1 iBoxx € Cov. Bonds 29,1 3,1 4,5 iBoxx € Supranational 23,2 3,04 5,79 Swap 10J 3,3 -0,2 0,1 iBoxx € Banks PS 85,5 1,6 9,9 iBoxx € Agencies 6,9 1,77 3,41 iBoxx € Germany -41,8 -0,2 0,3 iBoxx Banks NPS 116,9 -0,6 11,9 iBoxx € Sub-Sov. Germany 14,7 3,60 3,64 iBoxx € EU 29,1 2,6 6,4 iBoxx Banks Subordinated 203,7 -7,2 9,7 iBoxx € Sub-Sovereign 30,6 3,18 5,33 Leisure tip for the weekend: The old town of Heusenstamm Do you have ideas for leisure tips? We would be happy to receive your suggestions at research@helaba.de. Source: https://www.heusenstamm.de Located in the heart of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region and the Offenbach district, Heusenstamm is home to three of the most beauti- ful attractions in the Offenbach district: The Renaissance castle, built in 1663, is idyllically situated on the Bieberaue. The baroque church of St. Cäcilia, completed in 1740 to plans by the famous master builder Balthasar Neumann, impresses not only with its imposing architecture but also with its generous ceiling frescoes and ornate high altar. Another of the city's cultural landmarks is the Torbau, built in 1764. Find out more: Heusenstamm Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 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: Bloomberg, 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 2022 Senior Preferred 2022 Senior Non-preferred 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Okt.22 Dez.22 Feb.23 Apr.23 Jun.23 Aug.23 Okt.23 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: Bloomberg, 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 2021 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Okt.22 Dez.22 Feb.23 Apr.23 Jun.23 Aug.23 Okt.23 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: Bloomberg, 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 2021 2023 -25 -15 -5 5 15 25 35 -25 -15 -5 5 15 25 35 Okt. 22 Dez. 22 Feb. 23 Apr. 23 Jun. 23 Aug. 23 Okt. 23 Sub-Sovereigns Agencies Supranationals Sub-Sovereigns Germany Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 12 October 2023 7 of 7 News from Research & Advisory  Focus on Credit: Primary Market Update Bank Bonds  Focus on Credit: Corporate Schuldschein: Prejudices are out of place"  Focus on Credit: EUR Corporate bonds - Primary market Q3 2023  Video: Sustainable Finance – ICMA & Helaba Talk 2023  Focus on Credit: Social and sustainability bonds: ICMA Principles - the freestyle ele- ment makes all the difference  European banks: An optimistic outlook for 2023 Team of authors 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

SSA: EU in focus. Covered Bonds: Mixed sentiment between primary and secondary markets. Senior Unsecured: Declining activity ahead of the quarterly reporting season. Chart of the Week: Banks' refinancing with central banks noticeably declining