Resource Items: basics

The following was adapted from an announcement by DBRS:

In a commentary published Sept. 21, Canadian rating agency DBRS has provided a comprehensive review of the Canadian covered bond and residential mortgage markets.

Detailing the history and current status of the covered bond programs established by Canada's five largest banks, the commentary provides in-depth analysis of the residential mortgage market and the liquidity of residential mortgage loans in Canada.

Covered bonds have been a mainstay of European asset-based funding for centuries, but they are still little-known in the U.S.  Here are the ten most important things to understand:

This graphic, prepared by Covered Bond Investor™ cofounder Mercy Jiménez, is a timeline showing key events in the (short) history of covered bonds in the U.S.  It includes early issuance by Washington Mutual and Bank of America, which halted as the global economic crisis began to mount.

To download a PDF, click on "Key Events Graphic" under "Attachment," below.

The European Covered Bond Council's (ECBC's) Fact Book, released in a new edition yearly, is the world's single greatest annual source of information, insight, and statistics on covered bonds.  It is also one of the world's great values—available free as a PDF download.

Although the focus is naturally on Europe, the book's coverage is broader, including strong technical articles on covered bonds in the U.S. and Canada.