Veolia plans to sell first covered bonds by non-bank issuer.

The article reports on the plan of utility, waste management and transport group Veolia Environnement to use covered bonds as funding instrument. As the first non-bank company to implement such plan, Veolia intends to sell obligations foncières supported by claims against local authorities in France. The company aims to turn the elements of their contracts with local authorities into public sector collateral for obligations foncières. One problem Veolia faces is separating assets from the issuer's credit risk.