Norton Rose Fulbright advised Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on the registration of its €23 billion global covered bond programme under the new Canadian covered bond legislation, and on approximately US$5.5 billion worth of benchmark international covered bond deals in the past month.
The market-leading deals were issued in the United States, Europe and Australia.
Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers in Toronto, Montréal, London, Sydney and Frankfurt advised RBC as it:
- July 3 – Became one of the first financial institutions to be registered as an issuer of covered bonds and to obtain registration for its global covered bond programme under the new Canadian covered bond legislation.
- July 17 – Issued the first covered bond of 2013 in the United States by a Canadian issuer and the first under the new Canadian covered bond legislation (US$1.75 billion).
- July 25 – Issued the first euro denominated covered bond since 2008 by a Canadian issuer (€2 billion).
- August 9 – Issued the largest Australian dollar denominated (Kangaroo) covered bond by dollar value ever in Australia, the first Kangaroo covered bond of 2013 and the debut Kangaroo covered bond issuance by RBC (A$1.25 billion).
David Power, Vice President, Funding & Capital Management in RBC’s corporate treasury department said:
“Norton Rose Fulbright’s global expertise and ability to support us internationally on the programme greatly facilitated our execution of these transactions.”
Andrew Fleming, Canadian Head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s financial institutions practice said:
“It’s been a summer of more firsts for RBC and its global covered bond programme. RBC has been fast off the mark and the results are tremendous. We are honoured to advise RBC with our lawyers from around the world, bringing local expertise to this international work.”
Peter Noble, Partner in Norton Rose Fulbright’s London office said:
“Canadian covered bonds are proving to be a popular product, particularly as investors are continuing to favour highly rated paper. RBC is a trailblazer in this area and other institutions are likely to follow the most recent steps taken by RBC with this ambitious programme.”
Petar Kuessner, debt capital markets Partner in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Sydney office said:
“The strong investor response to RBC’s landmark debut in the Kangaroo covered bond market shows that high quality issuers continue to be able to raise significant amounts in the Kangaroo bond market.”
Norton Rose Fulbright is adviser as to Canadian, English and German law on RBC’s global covered bond programme and was adviser to RBC as to Australian law in connection with its Kangaroo covered bond issuance. Our lawyers have advised RBC on its global covered bond programme since its inception in 2007, when it became the first Canadian covered bond programme and issued the first covered bond to be issued by a Canadian financial institution. Norton Rose Fulbright advised RBC when it became the first issuer in the world to issue covered bonds registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012 and have advised RBC on its issuance of over US$18 billion (or equivalent) in covered bonds to date in euros, Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars, Swiss francs and Australian dollars.
These transactions demonstrate the seamless multi-jurisdictional advice that Norton Rose Fulbright’s financial institutions team can provide. Norton Rose Fulbright has over 1,000 professionals dedicated to financial institutions who advise many of the world’s leading banks, asset managers, financial investors and insurance companies, both locally and on a global scale. With substantial resources in the world’s leading financial centres and on-the-ground teams in many of the fastest growing emerging markets, our financial institutions team is perfectly positioned to help clients realize their objectives wherever they are in the world.
