23 April 2019
Brussels, 23 April 2019 – For immediate release
The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) is pleased to announce that Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, has become the latest member to join the Council, and the first Japanese member. Accordingly, the ECBC now represents 121 members from across more than 30 active covered bond jurisdictions around the world.
This significant milestone is the culmination of intensive and constructive dialogue promoted by the ECBC in recent years in relation to covered bonds across the globe. The ECBC has long recognised the potential of this asset class in the Asian market and today’s announcement underlines the significance of a first active issuer in Japan, which paves the way to further development of the covered bond market in Japan and other Asian countries, following the example of South Korea and Singapore.
Commenting on Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s admission as a member, Luca Bertalot, EMF-ECBC Secretary General said:
“We are delighted to welcome Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as the first Japanese ECBC member. This exciting development reinforces the ECBC’s presence in Asia and paves the way for a legislative debate to begin in the Japanese community on the potential need for a regulatory covered bond framework. With its market understanding and insight, and by sharing best practices developed on a global scale, the ECBC stands ready to support the Japanese stakeholders in developing their covered bond market. This latest expansion of the covered bond community underlines the pivotal role of covered bonds as a global asset class, providing stability and sustainable access to finance.”
Atsushi Ouchiyama, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation commented:
“We are highly honoured to become the first Japanese ECBC member. This is a very important step forward for the Japanese banking industry and we are looking forward to working with the ECBC. Together with the support from the ECBC, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation would like to contribute to the development of the Japanese covered bond market which is backed by a $1.6 trillion mortgage market.”
This latest addition to the ECBC’s membership comes just a day ahead of the 29th ECBC Plenary Meeting, which will take place in Riga, Latvia, on 24 April 2019. The event will be supported by key stakeholders in the Latvian capital markets community including the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Euromoney Conferences.
The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) is the platform that brings together covered bond market participants including covered bond issuers, analysts, investment bankers, rating agencies and a wide range of interested stakeholders.
