Press release

The Covered Bond Label Foundation (CBLF) is delighted to announce that SG Société de Crédit Foncier (SG SCF) & SG Société de Financement de l’Habitat (SG SFH) in France, and Caja Rural de Castilla La Mancha (CRCLM), a new labelled covered bond issuer from Spain, have become the first European issuers to publish their Harmonised Transparency Template (HTT) under the Covered Bond Label Initiative.

By joining the Label and disclosing the HTT, these institutions have demonstrated their commitment to enhanced transparency towards both regulators and investors.

These publications follow the introduction of the Harmonised Transparency Template, a new system to disclose cover pool information in a standardised way from all covered bond jurisdictions, by the Covered Bond Label Foundation. From the 1st of January 2016 onwards, with a phase-in period of one year, all labelled issuers will have to comply with the requirements of the 2016 Covered Bond Label Convention (available here), which entails publishing the HTT in order to disclose the data.

“The Covered Bond Label is a concrete market-led initiative towards convergence in covered bond market best  practices, and the HTT is a central tool for facilitating investors’ due diligence. The publication of the first  European HTTs represents a significant achievement in terms of enhancing transparency even further.”

        Luca Bertalot, Covered Bond Label Foundation (CBLF) Administrator

The HTT plays a pivotal role in the Covered Bond Label’s efforts to keep pace with current and prepare for future regulatory requirements. It will allow for cross-border comparison of data in a centralised way in a comparable format. It covers liability, regulatory and asset transparency, on which the Covered Bond Label is founded, offering a complete set of data directly linking every covered bond to the legislative framework under which it is issued and to the cover pool assets.

Information on all the Covered Bond Label issuers as well as more information on the Covered Bond Label itself can be found on the Label website: www.coveredbondlabel.com.