US banks are not presently issuing covered bonds,
as there is no enabling statute in the US for US banks to rely on and
the structure used for previous structured covered bonds in the US is
not currently economically viable. Foreign banks, on the other hand,
have found the US market attractive because it allows them to diversify
their funding base by attracting new investors in a new and growing
market. Assuming the cost of issuing in US dollars and converting
to their home currency is manageable, the ability to broaden their
investor base will generally reduce their funding costs.