An important additional attribute of structured covered bonds sits on the fact that
such transactions are involving the use of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that
agrees to buy the cover assets, even though with funding provided by the issuer
and afterwards this SPV guarantees the repayments of the issued covered bonds.
One of the main goals of structured covered bonds transactions is to provide a
rating uplift, so that the covered bonds to be able to achieve a better rating than
that of the issuer. However, the notches by which covered bonds ratings may go
up above the issuer’s rating are depending on numerous grounds: quality of the
cover assets; extent and quality of credit enhancements (overcollateralization)
employed; inherent transaction’s asset-liability mismatches; transaction’s liquidity
risks, and so forth.