Conferences

In the wake of a $2 billion U.S. dollar-denominated covered bond issue from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) — and two successful panel discussions on the topic in Washington, D.C. — more media stories are reflecting optimism that the current push for U.S. covered bonds may bear fruit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At "Why the U.S. Needs Covered Bonds," the focus was not on presentations from the panelists but on questions from the audience.  The nature of those questions cast some light on the concerns of U.S. organizations interested in this funding tool.

As reported by Structured Finance News, "[i]n a sure sign that covered bonds are coming into favor, the session devoted to the subject at ASF 2010 was standing room only."

Among the throng at last week's covered bond conference in Copenhagen was Tim Skeet, head of covered bonds for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and one of the industry's best-known figures.  In Europe, he is senior advisor to the Covered Bond Investor Council (CBIC) of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and serves as the ICMA's UK Regional Chairman.  In North America, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the U.S. Covered Bonds Council.  Here are his observations on the Copenhagen event:

Chris KenyonWhen Chris Kenyon's paper, "Pricing Covered Bonds (version 1.09)" hit the Internet in June, it spent quite a while on Google's Page One of search results under "covered bonds."