---
title: "SSAs and Financials: Weekly Market Update"
url: https://www.helaba.com/en/ssas-and-financials-weekly-market-update-40
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 24 August 2023 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 1 of 7 Research & Advisory Weekly Market Update Primary market environment: Rising economic concerns in both Germany and Europe have been the dominant market drivers of late. The likelihood of further ECB rate hikes has dimin- ished, which has boosted bond markets. Credit spreads were mixed. The sentiment for SSAs and covered bonds is increasingly positive. The red tint on the Risk Trend Indicator has disappeared. Senior unsecured investors continue to be relatively risk averse.. Primary market barometer The SSA segment finally came out of the primary summer break this week. Issuances from major issuers KfW, NRW.BANK, EFSF and BNG were well received. We expect this sentiment to continue and anticipate further is- sues. The German early movers of the pre- vious week were followed by a num- ber of covered bond issuers from around the world. They took ad- vantage of the attractiveness of the asset class after the summer break. We expect the issuance climate to re- main positive in the week ahead. The blackout periods due to the end of the quarterly reporting season are still having an impact, but issuers are also starting to return to the market in this segment after the summer break. We expect primary market activity to pick up noticeably in the coming weeks.. Covered Bonds Senior Unsecured SSAs Risk trend indicator: Sentiment on the rise 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 -0,06 -0,07 0,05 0,33 2,34 -0,35 European Union -0,02 0,03 0,09 -0,24 1,60 1,71 Germany Covered -0,10 -0,09 0,04 0,35 1,04 1,32 EU Covered -0,05 -0,05 0,01 0,15 0,91 1,32 Banks senior preferred 0,00 0,10 0,34 0,01 0,49 1,98 Banks senior bail-in (SNP) 0,00 0,11 0,33 -0,26 -0,15 1,64 Banks subordinated 0,03 0,18 0,22 -0,08 0,10 2,30 Supranational -0,03 -0,01 0,02 -0,16 1,53 1,48 Agencies -0,07 -0,08 0,06 0,29 2,06 0,31 Sub-Sovereigns Germany -0,01 -0,03 -0,05 -0,02 0,71 -0,69 Sub-Sovereigns -0,01 0,01 0,00 -0,16 1,12 0,18 strong middle weak unchanged weak middle strong spread widening spread tightening Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 2 of 7 SSAs As expected, SSA issuance has picked up this week. Order books are smaller than in the pre-summer months. Nevertheless, significant volumes can be achieved. The five issuers sold bonds with maturi- ties of 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years and a total issue size of EUR 9.6 bn. In the EFSF transaction, investors showed much more interest in the longer 15-year tranche on Wednesday. This was probably due to the fact that the 5-year tranche offered by NRW.BANK at the same time was attractively priced. The financial spreads of this week's issues (with the exception of the shorter ESFS tranche) narrowed by one to two basis points compared to the marketing. Outlook: We expect investor sentiment to continue to attract more issuers to the market next week. Covered Bonds After DZ Hyp, Germany's largest Pfandbrief issuer, made its debut after the summer break last week, two more large Pfandbrief houses, Commerzbank and Helaba, followed suit this week, both with 5- year paper. They were joined by eight covered bond issuers from Australia, Slovakia, Denmark, the UK, France, Austria and Sweden, bringing the volume of new issues this year up by EUR 9 bn to around EUR 158 bn. The smaller Slovak issuers, however, suffered from the large supply and recorded lower bid-to-cover ratios. For Pfandbriefe with a limited issue size of EUR 500 million, the premium over the secondary market curve was most recently around 3 basis points (bp); for this week's issues, which tended to be larger in size, it was closer to 5 bp (HESLAN 3 ⅜ 01/20/28) and 6 bp (CMZB 3 ⅜ 08/28). Despite this slight upward trend, we continue to view the market as very receptive. The asset class is attractive and offers reasonable pick-ups compared to the SSA seg- ment. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3.125% KFW Aaa /AAA/AAA 4.000 M rd. 10.10.2028 ms -13 Bp 22.08.2023 7.250 M rd. ms - 12 area 3.250% BNG Aaa /AAA/AAA 1.000 M rd. 29.08.2033 ms +11 Bp  22.08.2023 1.500 M rd. ms + 12 area 2.750% EFSF AAA /AA/AA- 1.000 M rd.  17.08.2026 ms -20 Bp 23.08.2023 2.200 M rd. ms - 20 area 3.375% EFSF AAA /AA/AA- 2.000 M rd. 30.08.2038 ms +28 Bp 23.08.2023 8.400 M rd. ms + 30 area 3.375% Swedish Export Credit Corporation Aa1 /AA+/- 0.600 M rd. 30.08.2030 ms +22 Bp 23.08.2023 0.860 M rd. ms + 23 area 3.125% NRW.Bank Aa1 /AA/AAA 1.000 M rd. 30.08.2028 ms -5 Bp 23.08.2023 1.940 M rd. ms - 3 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € SSAs issues week of 21 August 2023 3 of the top 5 Pfandbrief issuers back from the summer break Pfandbrief volume by issuer of mortgage AND public sector covered bonds and Pfandbrief type, in EUR million\*. \*30.06.2023 Sources: vdp, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 10.000 20.000 30.000 40.000 50.000 0 10.000 20.000 30.000 40.000 50.000 Mortgage Covered Bonds Public Sector Covered Bonds Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 3 of 7 Outlook: We expect to see more issuers to be in the pipeline for next week, taking advantage of the constructive market environment. Chart of the Week Seit Juli weiteten sich die Sekundärmarktspreads bei den Senior Unsecured-Anleihen deutlich aus, während die Risikoaufschläge im Covered Bond Segment bis- lang relativ stabil blieben. Aus unserem Handelsraum hören wir, dass Anleger aus dem „Real Money“-Seg- ment immer mehr dazu tendieren, Bonds (womöglich mit niedrigen Kupons) zu verkaufen, vermutlich um Platz für Neuemissionen (mit den aktuell attraktiven höheren Kupons) zu schaffen. Davon profitieren so- wohl Covered Bonds als auch die Neuemissionen, die diese Woche im Senior Unsecured-Segment nach der Sommerpause auf dem erwachten Primärmarkt er- scheinen. Zuletzt zeigte sich eine gewisse Stabilisier- ung. Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 3.375% Commerzbank AG Aaa /-/- 1.250 M rd. 28.08.2028 ms +14 Bp 21.08.2023 2.010 M rd. ms + 16 area 3.768% Commonwealth Bank of Australia Aaa /-/AAA 1.500 M rd. 31.08.2027 ms +35 Bp 21.08.2023 2.450 M rd. ms + 40 area 3.875% Slovenská sporiteľňa Aaa /-/- 0.500 M rd. 30.09.2027 ms +53 Bp 22.08.2023 0.650 M rd. ms + 55 area 3.375% Helaba Aaa /-/AAA 1.000 M rd. 20.01.2028 ms +6 Bp 22.08.2023 1.297 M rd. ms + 10 area 3.500% Danske M ortgage Bank Plc Aaa /-/- 1.000 M rd. 29.01.2029 ms +26 Bp 22.08.2023 1.350 M rd. ms + 29 area 3.750% Clydesdale Bank PLC AAA /-/Aaa 0.500 M rd. 22.08.2028 ms +50 Bp 22.08.2023 1.400 M rd. ms + 55 area 3.500% Nordea M ortgage Bank Plc Aaa /-/- 1.000 M rd. 31.08.2026 ms +5 Bp  23.08.2023 2.000 M rd. ms + 10 area 3.875% Všeobecná úverova banka, a.s. Aa1 /-/- 0.500 M rd. 05.09.2028 ms +73 Bp 24.08.2023 0.880 M rd. ms + 75 area 3.625% HYPO NOE Aa1 /-/- 0.500 M rd. 02.03.2026 ms +18 Bp 24.08.2023 0.985 M rd. ms + 21 area 3.375% Credit Agricole Home Loan SFH Aaa /AAA/AAA 1.250 M rd. 04.09.2028 ms +24 Bp 24.08.2023 1.900 M rd. ms + 28 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Covered Bond issues week of 21 August 2023 “The new pricing points are naturally putting some selling pressure on the old bonds, either through swaps into new issues or through continued selling pressure at the longer end. In particular, Dutch covered bonds in the 10-15 year range have been under pressure in recent days. Finally, we continue to see a steepening of credit curves, which is also offsetting part of the inverse yield curve.” Comment from the Helaba trading floor Senior Unsecured: Trend towards bond sales Iboxx Indizes in bp. Sources: Refinitiv, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Banks Senior Bail-in Banks Senior Preferred EUR Covered Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 4 of 7 Senior Unsecured In the senior unsecured segment, primary market activity is relatively subdued for the time being, which we attribute in part to the blackout periods that still exist in some cases due to the recent quarterly reporting season. The focus is on longer maturities. The Italian market leader, Intesa, issued a dual pre- ferred tranche with maturities of 4 and 8 years, generating an order book of an impressive EUR 4.5 bn for a total placement volume of EUR 2.25 bn. Japan's Mizuho Financial Group issued a 7-year non-preferred bond amounting to 0.75 bn EUR that was 2.3 times oversubscribed. Outlook: High maturities continue to dominate primary market activity in the senior unsecured segment. Many banks have already made good progress in issuing bail-in capital to meet regulatory requirements, allowing them to issue cheaper preferred bonds. Medium and longer maturities look relatively attractive. We expect primary mar- ket activity to pick up in the coming weeks, although timing will remain a challange given the upcoming central bank decisions and volatile markets. Short news 8/23 vdp sees upturn in new mortgage business: The Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp) sees light at the end of the tunnel despite persistently weak demand for property loans. "The total volume of all residential and commercial real estate loans has now risen slightly for the second quarter in a row," said vdp managing director Jens Tolckmitt. (finanzen.net) 8/22 Bond issuance at record levels: Banks around the world are issuing bonds at an all-time high. Financial firms around the world have issued USD 2 trillion (EUR 1.84 trillion) of bonds this year - at a record pace. USD (EUR 1.84 trillion) of bonds this year - at a record pace. (Bloomberg) 8/21 S&P downgrades several US banks: S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the credit ratings of several US banks. This was reported today by the news agency Bloomberg. The move comes two weeks after Moody's Inves- tors Service downgraded a number of US institutions. (Bloomberg) Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4.375% Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. Baa1 /BBB/BBB 0.750 M rd. 29.08.2027 ms +105 Bp 22.08.2023 1.250 M rd. ms + 125 area 5.125% Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. Baa1 /BBB/BBB 1.500 M rd. 29.08.2031 ms +200 Bp 22.08.2023 3.250 M rd. ms + 220 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Preferred issues week of 21 August 2023 Coupon Issuer Rating (M/S&P/F) Volume € Tap Maturity Launch-Spread vs. Mid-Swaps ESG Launch Orderbook 1st Spread- Indication 4.608% M izuho Financial Group, Inc. A1 /-/A- 0.750 M rd. 28.08.2030 ms +135 Bp  22.08.2023 1.700 M rd. ms +165 area Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba DCM € Senior Non-preferred issues week of 21 August 2023 “The summer lull in the markets is slowly coming to an end and new issue activity is picking up. However, in- vestor activity remains below average with flows well balanced. Spread widening is nevertheless supporting activity on the money side. Real money is increasingly tending to sell bonds. ETF funds are also selling as they experience outflows. Both, retail and private banking are acting as buyers, while fast money accounts are awakening to new activity as the primary market picks up.” Comment from the Helaba trading floor Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 5 of 7 8/21 Share buybacks: Europe's banks buy back shares on a large scale. Italy's Unicredit is spending 5.57 billion euros, the Netherlands' ING around 3.55 billion euros and France's BNP Paribas 3.4 billion euros. These are the sums with, which Europe's financial institutions have bought back since 2021, according to an analysis by Han- delsblatt. Britain's HSBC bought back shares for around 4.6 billion euros over the same period, while Spain's San- tander bought back 3.61 billion euros. 8/18 ESG performance improves terms: Consulting firm Oliver Wyman surveyed banks on the importance of ESG in lending. Two out of three banks said they would improve their lending conditions if their ESG performance was positive. (Börsen-Zeitung) \* 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 -0,78% -4,30% iBoxx € Cov. Germany 8,8 -0,7 -0,4 iTraxx Senior Financial 85,0 1,1 4,4 10Yr-Yield 2,52 -0,12 0,06 iBoxx € Cov. Bonds 21,8 -0,8 -0,4 iBoxx € Supranational 15,8 0,0 0,0 Swap 10J 3,11 -0,13 0,03 iBoxx € Banks PS 81,0 1,8 7,9 iBoxx € Agencies -0,2 -1,0 -0,2 iBoxx € Germany -46,93 -1,16 -0,61 iBoxx Banks NPS 110,5 2,5 10,0 iBoxx € Sub-Sov. Germany 9,3 -0,3 -0,9 iBoxx € EU 20,12 0,29 0,87 iBoxx Banks Subordinated 197,1 8,3 10,6 iBoxx € Sub-Sovereign 23,7 0,2 -0,1 Leisure tip for the weekend: Schwielowsee / Lakeside resort Caputh (Dahme-Spreewald district) Do you have ideas for leisure tips? We would be happy to receive your suggestions at research@helaba.de. Source: https://www.reiseland-brandenburg.de/ "Schwielowsee is cosy, sunny and has the good-naturedness of all broad natures," said Fontane, describing the lake close to Potsdam. Covering al- most 60 square kilometres, it is the largest natural lake in Brandenburg. It not only has two beautiful bathing areas, but also excellent water quality. The lakeside resort of Caputh is a dream. On the white sandy beach, under large palm trees and with a fantastic view over the lake, you can feel the Caribbean. At the cocktail and champagne bar on the pier, right on the wa- ter, you can enjoy the romantic sunset with a drink. More information: Lakeside resort Caputh Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 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 08/22 10/22 12/22 02/23 04/23 06/23 08/23 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 08/22 10/22 12/22 02/23 04/23 06/23 08/23 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 08/22 10/22 12/22 02/23 04/23 06/23 08/23 Sub-Sovereigns Agencies Supranationals Sub-Sovereigns Germany Focus on: SSAs & Financials – Weekly Market Update © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 24 August 2023 7 of 7 News from Research & Advisory  Focus on Credits: Primary market update EUR benchmark bank bonds H1 2023  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 ele- ment makes all the difference  European banks: An optimistic outlook for 2023 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: Big players open the market. Covered Bonds: summer hype. Senior Unsecured: Primary market slowly picking up. Chart of the Week: Senior Unsecured – turning old into new.