Showing posts with label JP Morgan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JP Morgan. Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2015

DBS prices first issue of covered bonds

DBS prices first issue of covered bonds

The covered bonds, DBS’ first issue under a US$10 billion programme, will bear a fixed coupon of 1.625 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrear, the bank says.

POSTED: 30 Jul 2015 09:25

SINGAPORE: DBS Bank has priced its issue of US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) fixed rate covered bonds due 2018, which is the first issue under a US$10 billion global covered bond programme, the bank said on Thursday (Jul 30).

The covered bonds will bear a fixed coupon of 1.625 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrear, equal to a spread of 37 basis points over mid-swaps, the bank said.

The issue attracted about US$1.37 billion (S$1.87 billion) of orders from more than 40 investors, with banks anchoring the order book and accounting for 62 per cent of orders. Orders were received from 16 countries, with 51 per cent coming from Asia.

DBS is the first issuer in Singapore to set up a covered bond programme after the local regulator tied up final changes to the rules related to the instrument. It is also the first issuer from South-East Asia to sell covered bonds in the offshore market.

The lender has mandated itself, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Societe Generale as joint global coordinators for the debut covered bonds, with Barclays and Citigroup as bookrunners. The issue is expected to be rated Aaa by Moody's and AAA by Fitch.

DBS Chief Financial Officer Chng Sok Hui said: “We are very pleased with the strong interest received from global investors in our first covered bond issuance, which allowed us to price at tight spreads even under current difficult bond market conditions. With the issue, we have been able to engage a fresh group of investors, and access liquidity with greater cost efficiency, lowering our overall funding cost.”

- CNA/REUTERS/cy


- wong chee tat :)

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Monday, July 1, 2013

EU investigators accuse 13 banks in derivatives probe

EU investigators accuse 13 banks in derivatives probe

    POSTED: 01 Jul 2013 10:00 PM

EU investigators accused 13 top banks including Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs on Monday of colluding over derivatives trading, in a new move to tighten banking standards.

BRUSSELS: EU investigators accused 13 top banks including Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs on Monday of colluding over derivatives trading, in a new move to tighten banking standards.

A preliminary investigation by the Commission showed that banks worked together to exclude exchanges from the derivatives market.

This was allegedly because they feared involvement by the exchanges would cut into their huge profits from over-the-counter trading.

Some aspects of derivatives trading have been blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis.

The EU's Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that the banks now had the chance to respond to the detailed accusations.

He said that they could face fines if the charges were confirmed once the investigation had been completed.

"If it is confirmed that banks collectively blocked exchanges from the derivatives market, the Commission could decide to impose sanctions," Almunia said at a press briefing.

"Exchange trading of credit derivatives improves market transparency and stability," he said.

Collusion between banks to prevent this type of trading would be "a serious breach of our competition rules", he said.

Almunia declined to give an estimate of the size of possible fines on the banks but he said the CDS market at the moment was worth about 10 trillion euros ($13 trillion).

The collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 "showed how derivatives trading is able to destabilise the entire financial system," Almunia said.

The EU investigation began in 2011 and has focused on claims that the Deutsche Boerse stock market and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were excluded from the derivatives market between 2006 and 2009 when the crisis reached its peak.

It said the two exchanges decided to turn to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and data service provider Markit to obtain the necessary licences but were turned down because the banks had prevented them from doing so.

The 13 European and US banks targeted are: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.

Four other banks that had been involved in the investigation -- Commerzbank, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and Wells Fargo -- have been excluded because of a lack of evidence.

In May, a US pension fund for Cleveland metal workers initiated legal proceedings against some of the banks identified by the European Commission saying it had suffered financial losses because of "an illegal cartel".

The fund said the number of victims of the alleged cartel could reach "tens of thousands", and claimed the derivatives market had been heavily distorted by those who controlled it.

The European Commission has worked to take on a stronger role in policing the financial markets in the wake of the global financial crisis and the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

Last month, it said it was preparing a set of proposals to tighten up oversight of key market benchmarks, especially of interest rates, after recent rigging scandals in London.

These could include moving LIBOR, a global interest rate indicator, from London to Paris where it would be supervised by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Such a move would very likely anger the British government which jealously guards the City of London, home to one of the world's largest financial markets.

LIBOR, or London Interbank Offered Rate, is a flagship reference instrument used all over the world, affecting what banks, businesses and individuals pay to borrow money.

London's role has been undermined by revelations that major banks, among them Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, have manipulated LIBOR to their advantage, especially during the turmoil and aftermath of the 2008 crisis.

British regulators have laid out plans for a new system combining survey-based rates and objective data to replace the current system, hoping to head off EU efforts to take overall control of such a key financial market instrument.

- AFP/al

- wong chee tat :)