Just as the covered bond market thought it was staring into the abyss, along came ING with its debut issue. By successfully raising €1bn – albeit at a price – it showed that benchmark deals can still be done, given a good story, a careful strategy and plenty of commitment.
Working as joint bookrunner alongside ING itself, Barclays Capital and ABN AMRO was the HSBC-covered bond team, which has become something of a specialist in inaugural issues. Its successes have included debuts for Nordea (the first euro benchmark covered bond out of Sweden) and BNP Paribas. In January, it was joint bookrunner on HSH Nordbank’s €1bn jumbo shipping pfandbrief, the first of its kind.
