Given their characteristics, the next obvious question is why issuers have incentives to choose covered bonds instead of other ways of funding. One of the main advantages of these securities compared to unsecured debt is that they provide relatively cheaper longterm funding as the double recourse nature partly delinks the credit quality of the bond to the one of the issuer. Thus, the ratings of covered bonds tend to be high (most of them are rated Aaa or Aa1). Moreover, covered bonds have performed relatively better during stress periods, or at least they have recovered earlier in case of collapse.2 Part of this evolution is related to the fact that, given their safeness, these bonds attract investors that traditionally were focused on ultra safe debt as they offer relatively higher yields at reduced credit risk. The access to this stable investor base by the issuer constitutes an advantage as it improves conditions for future issuances and refinancing activity. The comparison with secured funding is slightly different since issuers look mainly for capital relief and not for liquidity management (as it is the case with covered bonds) when they use secured instruments like residential mortgage back securities.