United overseas bank is following peer DBS into the covered bond market and is, in the process, about to become the first lender in Asia ex-Australasia to issue the instrument in euros. The notes, which are expected to price after investor meetings wrap up in Europe on Friday, will establish a template for other Asian banks to print in euros amid growing interest to issue covered bonds in the region. UOB's debut offering is expected to be at a tenor of five years, which is typical for inaugural euro covered bonds, says one banker on the transaction, with modest size ambitions at a little higher than the minimum €500m benchmark. The issuance will be under UOB's US$8bn global covered bond programme. The appropriate comparable is Kookmin's US$500m five-year paper, priced last month, as well as similarly rated Australian notes priced recently, he said.
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