News & Analysis: interviews

How essential is passage of federal legislation in order to develop a U.S. covered bond market?  If Congress provides a legal framework, how soon might new U.S. covered bonds be issued?  What is the prospective investor base?  Where do the first opportunities lie?

Tim SkeetThose are some of the questions addressed by Tim Skeet — one of the covered bond industry's best-known figures — in this exclusive interview with Covered Bond Investor™.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) took a new direction this month (Dec. 8) when it offered covered bonds denominated in Swiss Francs (CHF). CIBC's CHF 675 million (USD $657.89 million) covered bond issue contrasts with Royal Bank of Canada's (RBC's) decision earlier this year to issue covered bonds denominated in Canadian dollars.

 In an email interview with Covered Bond Investor™, CIBC'S Wojtek Niebrzydowski (VP, Treasury) provided some perspective on the Swiss Franc offering:

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) made headlines when it became the first Canadian bank to sell covered bonds denominated in Canadian dollars (Oct. 29).  In contrast to earlier series, which were pitched towards Europe, fully 99% of this issuance was purchased within Canada.

RBC's Ken Mason, Senior Manager, Capital and Term Funding, answered some written questions from Covered Bond Investor™ as follows:

Why and when did RBC start thinking about issuing a new covered bond?