Covered bond market in Asia set for growth as Australia readies new legislation

Signs of growth

A blossoming market: covered bonds in Asia

Covered bonds globally have just enjoyed a record January, with €45 billion of supply in the European markets alone. The market grew 45% in 2010 to $311 billion, according Thomson Reuters, but what of Asia-Pacific? Oddly, this part of the world – so important in terms of global GDP and trade, and increasingly in capital market flows – has completely missed out.

There are tentative signs, however, that an Asian covered bond market is in development. In Australia and New Zealand, covered bonds –