---
title: "SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update"
url: https://www.helaba.com/en/ssas-and-financials-weekly-market-update-44
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 6 July 2023 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 1 of 7 Research & Advisory Weekly Market Update Primary market environment: Primary markets have had an unexpectedly active start to the second half of the year. Bundesbank chief Nagel does not yet see the end of ECB tightening. The majority of Fed members are in favour of at least two more rate hikes this year. They remain very attentive to the development of inflation. The recent volatility in our Risk Trend Indicator continues. Overall, positive and negative signals are balanced. The positive sentiment towards senior unsecured bank bonds continues. Primary market barometer This week's SSA issuance was gener- ally well received, with the EFSF and EIB issues oversubscribed signifi- cantly. However, the start of the sum- mer holidays in many places may slow activity somewhat in the near term. Despite the approach of the summer break, the primary market remains active. Almost all transactions were successful and generated good order books. Transactions were mainly led by banks and asset managers. Activity in the primary market for sen- ior unsecured bank bonds is signifi- cantly lower this week than in the weeks before due to the summer break and the upcoming quarterly re- porting season. However, the market continues to be encouragingly recep- tive, and transactions are readily exe- cutable. Covered Bonds Senior Unsecured SSAs Risk trend indicator: Differentiated picture between the asset class 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 0,03 0,20 0,02 0,32 2,08 -0,65 European Union -0,03 0,10 -0,21 0,09 1,89 1,49 Germany Covered 0,03 0,29 0,32 0,55 1,24 1,29 EU Covered 0,01 0,12 0,14 0,24 0,94 1,16 Banks senior preferred -0,05 -0,07 -0,28 -0,19 -0,62 1,83 Banks senior bail-in (SNP) -0,06 -0,16 -0,33 -0,38 -0,87 1,62 Banks subordinated -0,05 -0,06 -0,03 -0,21 -1,04 2,18 Supranational -0,01 0,12 -0,03 0,20 1,79 1,39 Agencies 0,02 0,21 0,09 0,25 1,46 0,08 Sub-Sovereigns Germany -0,01 0,04 0,12 0,15 0,74 -0,52 Sub-Sovereigns -0,01 0,08 -0,01 0,07 0,98 0,22 strong middle weak unchanged weak middle strong spread widening spread tightening Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 2 of 7 SSAs The SSA segment was opened this week by the EFSF and the Ville de Paris (VDP). The EFSF issued a EUR 3 billion bond with a maturity of 10 July 2030. The VDP placed a EUR 300m bond (WNG) with a maturity of 20 years in sustainability format at OAT+29bp. On Tuesday, the European Investment Bank (EIB) also took the stage with a 10-year benchmark (EUR 5bn) and shone with an order book of EUR 41bn. The final spread was set at MS+4bp, 2bp tighter than the marketing. It is quite possible that the success of the issues earlier in the week encouraged other issuers to become active in the primary market. The State of Berlin issued an 8-year benchmark and today Investitionsbank Berlin issued a 7-year bond of the same size. Outlook: There should still be several projects in the pipeline. However, the momentum in the primary market may slow down somewhat as the summer holidays begin in many places. ⟶ Note on our own behalf: Our next Weekly will be published on Friday 14.07.2023 ⟵ Covered Bonds BayernLB started the week and the second half of the year on Monday with a EUR 500m benchmark (WNG). The 3-year issue was priced at a final spread of MS+2bp, 3bp tighter than at marketing, as the order book was twice oversubscribed. On Tuesday, French Crédit Agricole Public Sector SCF followed with a 3- year bond. The size of the issue was capped at EUR 500m from the outset. The final spread was MS+13 bps versus MS+18 bps in the marketing. The issue was 4 times oversubscribed. ANZ New Zealand (EUR 500m, WNG) also chose the same maturity and was able to generate demand of over EUR 3.2bn. The success of the 3-year issues demonstrates the appeal of short maturities to investors. The Italian ICCREA Banca issued a 5.5 year covered bond. The issue was only 1.27 times oversubscribed. Since 7 June, Italian covered bonds with a volume of EUR 6.5 bn have been issued. RLB-Oberösterreich's 4-year covered Benchmark (EUR 500 m, WNG) also met with strong demand and was 2.6 times oversubscribed. The final pricing at MS+36 bps was 4 bps tighter than the initial offer. The issuance merry-go-round continued on Thursday. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank took advantage of the receptive primary market to issue a 3-year benchmark (EUR 500m, WNG). Our trader commentary (above) points to the old new players - bank treasuries. Their impetus is quite different from that of the recently ended programme purchases (and thus the market psychological effect on secondary spreads): In contrast to the programme purchases, the current buyers are not pursuing any overarching goals, but Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,000% EFSF AAA /AA/AA 3,000bn 10.07.2030 ms -2 bps 03.07.2023 5,400bn ms + 0 area 3,500% Ville de Paris - /AA/AA- 0,300bn 10.07.2043 OAT + 29 bp  03.07.2023 0,800bn OAT + 32 area 3,000% EIB Aaa /AAA/AAA 5,000bn 15.07.2033 ms +4 bps 04.07.2023 41,000bn ms + 6 area 3,000% Berlin Aa1 /-/AAA 0,500bn 11.07.2031 ms -1 bps 05.07.2023 0,500bn ms - 1 area 3,125% Investitionsbank Berlin / - / AAA 0,500bn 12.07.2030 ms -2 bps 06.07.2023 ms + 2 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € SSAs issues week of 3 July 2023 "Currently, an old new player is filling the recent gap in demand - both primary and secondary: bank treasur- ies! Together with a few international asset managers, they are currently absorbing the pent-up supply over- hang at elevated swap levels, with a traditional focus on short and medium maturities. As a result, last week's spread erosion is temporarily losing some momentum. Attentive observers note a remarkable follow-up per- formance for the transactions issued this week by Balaba (3y) and ACASCF (3y) of about 4 and 5 bp respec- tively. Trading books should be pleased." Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 3 of 7 rather an economic motivation, some of it opportunistic. Whether this will lead to a sustained tightening is ques- tionable. Given the ongoing macro uncertainties, spreads are likely to move sideways, especially as long as the yield curve dynamics and a fairly entrenched absolute yield range (2.20%-2.50%) persist. Outlook: This week has shown that the primary market remains receptive, although issuers are facing higher new issue premiums. Overall, activity is likely to continue in the short term, following the recent pattern of primary buying and secondary selling. The start of the summer holidays in many countries is likely to have a dampening effect later on. Senior Unsecured Activity in the primary market for senior unsecured bank bonds has recently significantly decreased compared with the strong weeks of the past. Given the onset of summer vacations in many parts of Europe and the upcoming publication of quarterly reports, this is no surprise. At the end of next week, U.S. banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo open the reporting season for Q2 2023. Nevertheless, some issuers are taking advantage of the favorable market window in the primary market, and the transactions can be executed well. Since the beginning of this week, NordLB showed up in the market with a EUR 500 million preferred bond and Pi- raeus Bank with a EUR 400 million preferred bond. NordLB's new paper is a green bond. Both transactions were successfully executed. Outlook: The primary market for senior unsecured bank bonds continues to be encouragingly receptive, even if activity will be lower in the coming weeks due to the summer vacations and the upcoming quarterly reporting sea- son. High maturities and strict bail-in capital requirements remain fundamental drivers of primary market activity this year.. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3,500% Bayerische Landesbank Aaa /-/- 0,500bn 11.01.2027 ms +2 bps 03.07.2023 2,038bn ms + 5 area 3,750% Credit Agricole Public Sector SCF Aaa /AAA/- 0,500bn 13.07.2026 ms +13 bps 04.07.2023 3,000bn ms + 18 area 3,875% Iccrea Banca S.p.A. Aa3 /-/- 0,500bn 12.01.2029 ms +68 bps 04.07.2023 0,635bn ms + 70 area 3,951% ANZ New Zealand (Int’l) Ltd., London Branch Aaa /-/AAA 0,500bn 17.07.2026 ms +32 bps 05.07.2023 3,200bn ms + 40 area 3,625% RLB Oberösterreich AG Aaa /-/- 0,500bn 13.12.2027 ms +36 bps 05.07.2023 0,000bn ms + 40 area 3,625% Deutsche Pfandbrief AG Aa1 /- / - 0,500 Mrd. 13.10.2026 ms + 14 Bp 06.07.2023 1,090 Mrd. ms + 16 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Covered Bond issues week of 3 July 2023 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4,875% NORD/LB A3 /-/A- 0,500bn 11.07.2028 ms +160 bps  03.07.2023 0,775bn ms + 175 area 7,375% Piraeus Bank B1 / B /- 0,500 bn 13.07.2028 7,250% 06.07.2023 0,900 Mrd. 7,375% Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Preferred issues week of 3 July 2023 “Good results of the annual stress test at U.S. banks created a positive underlying sentiment in the banking sector. The iTraxx EUR Senior Financials was able to tighten from its high of 93.5 bps on June 28 to 83.5 bps on July 3 and is currently trading at 87.5 bps. Its cross-sector counterpart is lagging behind with a tightening of 6 bps (high to low) and is currently trading at 76.5 bps. This euphoric underlying sentiment also is visible in the cash segment. Regarding non-preferreds, especially the periphery, but also German and French paper tightened 10 to 11 bps and are thus outperformers within the rank.” Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 4 of 7 Chart of the Week Thanks to the turnaround in in- terest rates, low-risk invest- ments such as covered bonds can offer attractive yields. There are differences between coun- tries and maturity bands. Given the current inverted yield curve, the short end is particularly en vogue. At 51%, the majority of issues in the first half of the year were in the 4-5-year maturity range. German Pfandbriefe yield on average 3.98% in the 1-2 year range and 3.76% in the 2-3 year range. The 5-7 year yield is 3.35% and the 7-10 year yield is 3.27%. Yield premiums over Bunds range from around 61-76 bp. Short news 07/05 Moody's adjusts refinancing risk assumptions for Czech covered bonds and raises Timely Payment Indicator for UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia – Mortgage Covered Bonds. Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) has lowered its refinancing margin assumptions for Czech covered bond pro- grammes due to the credit-positive development of the Czech covered bond market. Over the last decade, the market has more than doubled in size and covered bonds have become increasingly important as a funding source for Czech mortgages. In addition, Moody's has raised its Timely Payment Indicator (TPI) for UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia – Mortgage Covered Bonds to Probable from Improbable. 7/3 SRB Annual Report for 2022: The Single Resolution Board (SRB) published its Annual Report for 2022. The publication details the work of SRB and highlights the progress made in making Europe’s banking sector more stable by ensuring all SRB’s banks are resolvable. The report will be officially presented at the European Parlia- ment’s ECON committee later this month. 6/29 S&P Global Market Intelligence - European banks show ample capital buffers as Basel III reforms near conclusion: Europe's banks hold ample capital buffers with 18 months to go until the implementation of the final post-global financial crisis rules. This boosts their core capital ratios well above minimum requirements, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication none Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Non-preferred issues week of 3 July 2023 Covered bonds again offer attractive returns %, Average yield on AAA-rated covered bonds by country \*Numbers after country codes represent the average remaining maturity of bonds in years. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 3,51 3,57 3,64 3,83 3,86 3,96 3,99 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9 4 4,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9 4 4,1 D (5,0)\* FR (6,1) AT (5,7) CA (3,6) SP (4,5) IT (4,9) FI (4,4) Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 5 of 7 \* Closing prices from the previous day Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory, \* ASW-Spreads Market Data (current\*, vs. 1 week, vs. 4 weeks) E-STOXX 600 Banks 156 2,62% 2,28% iBoxx € Cov. Germany 10,3 3,2 2,2 iTraxx Senior Financial 85,4 -4,6 -2,1 10Yr-Yield 2,48 0,17 0,04 iBoxx € Cov. Bonds 23,6 2,9 2,2 iBoxx € Supranational 18,1 1,6 -0,6 Swap 10J 3,10 0,15 0,03 iBoxx € Banks PS 79,9 -1,3 -6,5 iBoxx € Agencies 0,9 3,1 0,8 iBoxx € Germany -45,74 4,48 0,54 iBoxx Banks NPS 110,6 -4,9 -10,0 iBoxx € Sub-Sov. Germany 11,5 1,1 1,8 iBoxx € EU 21,82 1,40 -2,98 iBoxx Banks Subordinated 198,7 -3,0 -1,5 iBoxx € Sub-Sovereign 25,6 1,4 -0,3 Leisure tip for the weekend: Schwante Castle Estate (Brandenburg) Do you have ideas for leisure tips? We would be happy to receive your suggestions at research@helaba.de. Source: https://www.schlossgut-schwante.de Schlossgut Schwante is a special place. Surrounded by the fields, ditches and forests of the Oberhavelland region, the baroque Schwante Castle lies 25 km north-west of Berlin and yet in another world. The Schwante Castle Estate is dedicated to creating a vibrant place for art, nature and enjoyment. The centrepiece is the ten-hectare sculpture park, the restaurant in the brick house and the farm shop. More information: Schlossgut Schwante Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 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 07/22 09/22 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 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 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 07/22 09/22 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 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 07/22 09/22 11/22 01/23 03/23 05/23 07/23 Sub-Sovereigns Agencies Supranationals Sub-Sovereigns Germany Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 6 July 2023 7 of 7 News from Research & Advisory  Focus on Credits: EUR Corporate bonds: Primary market Q2 2023  Video: Sustainable Finance – ICMA & Helaba Talk 2023  Focus on Credits: Social and sustainability bonds: ICMA Principles - the freestyle element makes all the difference  European banks: An optimistic outlook for 2023  Focus on: Corporate Schuldschein: Burgeoning diversity creates new options for investors  FOCUS ON CREDITS - BASEL III AND THE EU COUNCIL'S POSITION ON THE LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE  FOCUS ON: SUSTAINABLE FINANCE - THE RENDEZVOUS CLAUSE Team of authors Publisher and editorial office Helaba Research & Advisory Editor: Sabrina Miehs 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: Good demand and healthy order books. Covered bonds: New issues sought mainly by banks and asset managers. Senior unsecured: Primary market receptive. Chart of the week: Covered bonds again offer attractive yields