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Nordic agency Swedish Export Credit is emerging as one the strongest credits in the US structured note space post-Lehman, capturing over USD200m worth of fresh funding as investors spur Wall Street names in favour of the prestigious European credit’s paper.
According to usmtn-i data, SEK has raised more funding from structured USMTNs than any other borrower in the post-Lehman marketplace. The firm has riased USD237m encompassing 14 tickets in both commodity and equity asset classes.
Latest deals include a USD70.6m 18-month leveraged S&P 500 offering. The deal pays 200% times the index’s upside performance. Maximum return is limited to 20.1%. On the downside, investors face one-for-one negative exposure to a decline in the S&P’s value beyond a 10% buffer zone. Merrill Lynch structured the deal.
Since the downfall of Lehman Brother’s sent shockwaves through the market, US structured note sales have slowed considerably. According to usmtn-i data, September ranks as the quietest month this year, hosting just USD3.1bn of sales.
Swedish Export Credit, however, has bucked the trend to issue more in September than in any of the previous three, although its activity is still down on the first half of the year.
The agency remains one of the most flexible third-party credits active in the US market. According to usmtn-i data, the borrower has raised USD3.5bn-eqv in 2008, issuing deals in equities, commodities, FX, the hybrid space and its debut interest rate linked deal.
On a year to date basis, SEK is the sixth most active borrower across all credits, breaking into the top-ten for the first time ever. In 2007, the European credit raised USD3.1bn putting it in eleventh place, usmtn-i data shows.