The new covered bonds

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when securitised markets took a beat in early January to let the flood of covered bonds, SSAs, banks and IG corporates print. 

ABS was in less of a rush; it was a more stable, less window-driven market. Investor numbers were in the low double digits, but they were available come rain or shine, meaning less pressure to join the January rush. This year, we thought it might be different, and so it seems. 

There are five mortgage master trusts active in the UK, and three of the five were in market in the partial first week of the year (Permanent, Holmes, Lanark). Nationwide’s Silverstone has adopted its "stock and drop" strategy, allowing it to be yet more nimble and window-driven, so it's only Coventry Building Society's Economic Master Issuer that's unaccounted for in this wave.