Achmea Bank

Achmea Bank N.V. has successfully issued €500 million covered bonds under the €5 billion Conditional Pass-Through Covered Bond programme. This is the third issuance under this programme and raises the amount currently issued under this programme to €1.5 billion.

The transaction has been very well-received in the capital markets with broad interest among European institutional investors. Over 100 investors participated and the total volume was in excess of €2.8 billion.

Achmea Bank will use the proceeds to refinance parts of its existing Dutch mortgage portfolio.

The bonds have a duration of 5 years with 16 June 2025 as a maturity date. They were issued at 24 basis points over mid-swap, leading to a coupon of 0.01%.

The bond is rated ‘Aaa’ by Moody’s and ‘AAA’ by Fitch and will be listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The covered bond has been placed by a syndicate of banks consisting of ABN AMRO, DZ Bank, ING, Rabobank, Société Générale en UniCredit. 

Achmea Bank N.V. has decided to suspend dividend distributions to its shareholder until there is greater clarity regarding the impact of the coronavirus. By taking this action, the company follows the call from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). In the second half of 2020, Achmea Bank will determine if a distribution on the shares can still be made, based on developments related to the coronavirus and the financial position. 

The ECB and DNB have recently urged banks to maintain their financial buffers and to refrain from dividend distributions at this moment. This is because the impact of the coronavirus on the economy is significant and the scale and duration of the crisis are still uncertain.  

Although Achmea Bank's solvency and liquidity position is robust, Achmea Bank has decided to follow the ECB's and DNB's call to suspend the dividend payment until further notice. 

Achmea Bank’s Annual General Meeting will be held shortly. In  this meeting, it will be proposed to add the 2019 profit to the reserves. 

Mortgage customers of Achmea Bank who are unable to pay their mortgage payments due to the corona crisis, will be allowed to make use of a 3-month payment holiday. This applies to mortgage customers of the labels Centraal Beheer and Woonfonds.

With this payment holiday customers temporarily do not have to pay interest and principal on their mortgage loan. By deferring the mortgage payments to a later date, it is more likely that customers can continue living in their home. This is one of solutions that Achmea Bank offers to its mortgage customers with financial problems. We investigate the best solution for our customers on a case by case basis.

Pierre Huurman, Chairman of the Board of Achmea Bank: “We are currently getting a lot of questions from customers who are concerned about their mortgage payments. Especially from independent entrepreneurs who are directly affected by the corona crisis. We always consult with the customer to determine what is the most suitable solution. This  is always a tailormade solution, in which we take the personal situation of the customer as our starting point. Through this measure, we offer temporary financial relief to bridge this difficult period.”