Suncorp to trailblaze covered bond deals from 2nd tier lenders.

The article reports that Australian regional bank Suncorp hired Deutsche Bank and Barclays to assist it in developing a covered bond programme. Covered bonds are essentially debt instruments that are supported by a ring fenced pool of assets. Suncorp will be the first regional Australian bank to enter the covered bond market. Standard & Poor's and Firtch rated Suncorp at A, which denotes that Suncorp has a greater chance of success in the covered bond market compared to its peer banks.