DBRS Releases December Monthly Canadian Covered Bond Report

DBRS has today released the Monthly Canadian Covered Bond Report, which provides an overview of the Canadian covered bond market for the month ending December 31, 2011. The report provides detailed information on this debt market, which was previously included in the Monthly Canadian ABS Report.

The covered bond market remained active in the month of December, with a USD 2.0 billion new issuance from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. DBRS also discontinued one rating in the month, Series CB4 issued under the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Global Public Sector Covered Bond Programme, as the note was fully repaid. As of December 31, 2011, the total amount outstanding in the market was $50.4 billion (Canadian-dollar equivalent), an increase of 3.5% month-over-month. There were no changes in asset percentage for any programmes.

The year 2011 was a very active one for covered bonds in Canada. There were a total of 19 issuances, accounting for $25.7 billion (Canadian-dollar equivalent). This compares with 12 new issuances for a total of $17.3 billion (Canadian-dollar equivalent) in 2010.

One trend that has been observed throughout the year is the ability of Canadian financial institutions to tap U.S. debt markets for a source of funding. Indeed, there were a total of 12 new U.S. dollar issuances, accounting for $21.7 billion (Canadian-dollar equivalent), or 84.6% of total new covered bond issuances from Canadian financial institutions in 2011.