ECBC Publishes 2026 Edition of European Covered Bond Fact Book and Launches New Fact Book AI Tool
The European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) is pleased to announce the publication today of the 21st edition of the European Covered Bond Fact Book, together with the launch of the new ECBC Fact Book AI Tool, providing market participants with fast and intuitive access to the publication’s extensive market intelligence, insights and statistics.
The European Covered Bond Fact Book 2026 provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments shaping global covered bond markets, including the most recent market statistics; the role of covered bonds in increasingly competitive international financial markets; innovation in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises, including through instruments such as European Secured Notes (ESN); the evolution of ESG considerations; the regulatory backbone provided by the Covered Bond Directive; the continued global expansion of the asset class; and perspectives on liquidity and investor demand.
Featuring the latest statistical data as of year-end 2025, the Fact Book builds upon the success of its previous editions and further consolidates its position as a leading source of information on market, regulatory and legislative developments and statistical trends across the covered bond asset class.
The new Fact Book can be downloaded from the ECBC website here.
Another Record Year for the Global Covered Bond Market
The 2026 Fact Book demonstrates that covered bonds continue to play a key role in European and international capital markets, contributing to the efficient allocation of capital and providing stable, long-term funding to the real economy.
The outstanding volume of covered bonds reached another record level in 2025, as strong new supply more than compensated for bonds maturing during the year. Total covered bonds outstanding increased by approximately EUR 100bn, reaching EUR 3.43trn at the end of 2025, compared with EUR 3.33trn at the end of 2024. This marked the eighth consecutive year of growth.
New covered bond issuance also rebounded strongly in 2025 following the slowdown recorded in the previous year. After declining by approximately EUR 150bn in 2024, issuance increased by around EUR 102bn in 2025 to reach EUR 642bn, reversing the previous year’s downward trend and returning closer to the strong issuance levels observed in 2022 and 2023.
Sustainable Covered Bonds Continue Their Long-Term Expansion
The sustainable covered bond market has grown steadily since the first sustainable covered bond was issued in 2014. By the end of 2025, the outstanding volume was more than seven times higher than in 2019, increasing from EUR 20bn to almost EUR 145bn.
During 2025, the number of active sustainable covered bond issuers decreased slightly from 82 to 79, while new issuance declined from EUR 31.5bn in 2024 to EUR 28.8bn in 2025. Nevertheless, the total outstanding volume increased by approximately EUR 14bn year-on-year, demonstrating the continued structural growth of this segment. By the end of 2025, issuers from 17 countries were active in the sustainable covered bond market.
The ECBC is also pleased to confirm that its complete covered bond market statistics for 2025 are now available via the ECBC website. A short video introduction to the latest statistics by Joost Beaumont, Chairman of the ECBC Statistics & Data Working Group, is also available on the EMF-ECBC YouTube channel.
The ECBC database provides a unique perspective on the evolution of covered bond markets, covering 20 years of market developments across 35 countries.
Launch of the ECBC Fact Book AI Tool
Alongside the publication of the 2026 Fact Book, the ECBC is launching the new ECBC Fact Book AI Tool, transforming the way market participants can navigate and interact with the publication’s extensive knowledge base. Through simple written prompts, users can rapidly explore the Fact Book’s insights, statistics and market intelligence, making more than two decades of accumulated covered bond expertise easier and faster to access.
Available through the EMF-ECBC App on mobile and desktop devices, the Fact Book AI Tool is the latest addition to the entity’s one-stop digital platform for EMF-ECBC news, personalised content, event information, market intelligence and professional networking.
The ECBC welcomes the broad range of perspectives reflected in this latest edition of the Fact Book and thanks all contributors whose expertise, enthusiasm and dedication have once again made this unique publication possible. In particular, the ECBC would like to express its gratitude to Sascha Kullig, Chairman of the ECBC Fact Book Working Group, and Joost Beaumont, Chairman of the ECBC Statistics & Data Working Group, for their leadership and contribution.
Commenting on the publication of the 2026 edition of the European Covered Bond Fact Book and the launch of the new AI Tool, EMF-ECBC Secretary General Luca Bertalot said:
“The ECBC continues to play a crucial and transformative role, providing unique market governance and guidance to market participants and, importantly, an unparalleled source of market intelligence, bringing together insights, expertise and statistics from leading covered bond specialists across the entire market ecosystem. Our combination of a global vision and a local human touch has made the ECBC a unique international community. By bringing together issuers, investors, regulators and policymakers, we are helping to secure robust, long-term and sustainable funding channels for mortgages and public-sector assets and, potentially, SMEs – mobilising private capital through smart financial solutions in support of the real economy. With the launch of the Fact Book AI Tool, we are now taking another step forward: combining more than two decades of collective market intelligence with new technology to make this unique knowledge base even more accessible to our global community.”
Contact:
Luca Bertalot
Secretary General