Covered Bonds

Covered Bonds

Washington Mutual to sell first U.S. covered bonds

美國終於要開始賣歐洲風行已久的Covered Bonds了, 還是由我們的一個大客戶發行的 (三家中的兩家IB也是我們的客戶呢, 哈哈).

什麼是Covered Bonds呢? 他基本上是一種新的,較便宜的集資工具,特別是跟發行公司債或甚至向政府機構借(經由FHLB的advance)比起來. Covered Bonds 的投資人有雙重保護: 對發行公司的要求權以及被發行公司當作抵押品的要求權. 由於以上的緣故, 今天一個信譽卓著的公司又有許多錢投資在證劵化商品(MBS, ABS, etc, 很多美國公司符合這個要求) 要借錢來從事一項新的產品開發, Covered Bonds 是最便宜的了. 一般而言發行公司只要提供比政府債劵多10-20 bps (0.1%-0.2%) 就夠了, 比公司債(AAA,2yr for 30-40 bps)低多了. 投資人也獲利, 因為他們可以幾乎零風險(跟政府債劵一樣)來拿到比政府債劵高0.2%的報酬率.

然而, 天下沒有白吃的午餐, 這款"好康的事"哪裡生出來呢? 答案是"公司的名號"(信用)以及"公司的基礎設施"(對抵押品的定價以及風險管理能力) 哈哈哈,這又是敝公司下去分一杯羹的時候了, 當然啦, 在三家投資銀行分完他們的份之後.

在European Mortgage Federation上的介紹

By Al Yoon

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc., the third largest lender in the United States, will become the first bank in the nation to tap the growing covered-bond market by selling up to 20 billion euro of debt backed by home loans, according to Standard & Poor's.

Seattle-based Washington Mutual (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) plans by mid-month to access the 1.6 trillion euro market where it may see lower long-term funding costs than through sales of its corporate debt or advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system, according to Todd Niemy, an analyst at S&P in New York.

Covered bonds differ from traditional mortgage-backed securities in that the debt remains on the company's balance sheet, allowing it to retain control over the assets. The bonds are secured by a portfolio of assets that in the case of the borrower's insolvency would be used to make payments.

The bonds will allow U.S. banks to diversify funding into a European market that has undergone a "renaissance" in recent years, S&P said. Germany, Spain and the UK have been particularly active issuers since 2004.

Washington Mutual "is taking advantage of an expanding European appetite for U.S. mortgage credit," Niemy said in an interview. "A lot more U.S. mortgage bonds are being purchased in Europe and Asia" and the covered bond sale is a natural extension, he said.

Washington Mutual will provide a mortgage bond backed by mortgages with fixed-interest for five years, and adjustable thereafter, as collateral for the covered bond, S&P said. A call to Washington Mutual wasn't immediately returned.

The "AAA" rated issue will probably trigger more covered bond sales by U.S. companies, S&P said. Washington Mutual itself will sell the bonds up to six times a year, S&P said, citing the company.

Barclays Capital, ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank are managing the Washington Mutual covered bond sale. (Additional reporting by Bei Bei She in London) (Reporting by Al Yoon, editing by Leslie Adler; Reuters Messaging: albert.yoon.reuters.com@reuters.net; email: albert.yoon@reuters.com; Tel: 646-223-6347))

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