Comment - Tuesday View

Latest Tuesday Views

• Corporate green loans make little sense without green lenders

  UK supermarket chain J Sainsbury has signed what it has called the first ever corporate green loan. But aside from some positive PR for the firm, it’s hard to see the direct benefits the green label will provide to lenders or borrowers in the loan market.

  • 02:45 PM

• With time, the Royal Mail IPO looks less like a failure

  Public outrage is a lot faster than the digestion of an IPO. But thanks to a timely profit warning, at last they're getting in sync.

  • 11:45 AM

• BES crisis should have been an opportunity

  Banco Espírito Santo offered a welcome chance to re-evaluate a proposition that nobody really believed anyway. The market didn't take it.

  • 17 Jul 2014

• Are investment banks competitive yet?

  You might think the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority had enough on its plate. The UK regulator has a wide remit, running from insider trading to insurance, and from Wonga to Warburg Pincus. So why is it proposing another review of whether investment banks are competitive enough?

  • 16 Jul 2014

• Sukuk market should rally round Luxembourg's euro choice

  Luxembourg’s decision to issue its debut sukuk in euros seems to defy common sense, since it will be selling into a Gulf-dominated market where most investors are fixated on dollars. But the grand duchy is right to stick with the currency and sukuk market participants should welcome this unusual choice.

  • 15 Jul 2014

• KfW ups green game but don't all rush at once

  KfW threw down the gauntlet to other issuers with its debut green bond this week by adding another factor to reporting standards: impact reporting. Investors clearly like it — Tuesday’s deal at €1.5bn is the biggest ever new issue green bond in the sovereign, supranational and agency sector. But it is good to see KfW pioneering new green features, it won’t be good for the market if every issuer rushes to include it.

  • 15 Jul 2014

• Don’t laugh at de-dollarisation talk

  Recent comments about the de-dollarisation of financial markets and the wider adoption of the renminbi by countries like Russia have been met with incredulity in some quarters. But while the dollar will retain its reserve currency status for many years to come, the fact such talk exists shows how far the RMB has come in a very short time.

  • 15 Jul 2014

• BES crisis should have been an opportunity

  Banco Espirito Santo offered a welcome chance to re-evaluate a proposition that nobody really believed anyway. The market didn't take it.

  • 15 Jul 2014

• Use with caution: SBLCs a help, not a cure, for CB jeebies

  Bankers have begun using standby letters of credit (SBLCs) to price convertible bonds coming from sectors that might otherwise make investors a bit jittery. The tactic works when used responsibly, but bankers need to avoid it for companies that have no business being in the capital markets.

  • 15 Jul 2014

• August sukuk is not easy but worth it to beat the rush

  It is a fine testament to the growing stature of Islamic finance that various novel borrowers are pressing ahead to issue international sukuk for the first time — the likes of Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Dogus Group among them. But with so many debuts revving up to join an autumnal convoy, those that can beat the traffic are advised to do so.

  • 10 Jul 2014

• Investors find the nuance in Russia's reopening despite war rumblings

  Even as Ukraine called off a ceasefire and ordered troops to crack down on pro-Russia protests, Russia’s equity capital markets seemed to return further towards normality with a sale of $470m of the Moscow stock exchange. There is no contradiction between those two events and market participants should cheer the return of nuance.

  • 10 Jul 2014

• Levloan borrower clout dips but the trend will get back on track

  The power of corporate borrowers in the leveraged loan market has taken a beating in the last three weeks. Investor pushback drove changes of terms on a series of deals, the most recent being the term loan ‘B’ portion of a €7.5bn facility for DE Master Blenders. But this is just a blip. Borrower clout in the leveraged market is still growing, and the shift to the dominance of covenant-lite deals looks inevitable.

  • 10 Jul 2014

• Sukuk debutants should hit the gas to avoid September congestion

  It is a fine testament to the growing stature of the Islamic finance market that various novel borrowers are pressing ahead with plans to issue international sukuk for the first time — the likes of Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Dogus Group among them. But with so many debut deals revving up to join an autumnal convoy, those that can beat the traffic are advised to do so.

  • 08 Jul 2014

• Investors find the nuance in Russia's reopening despite war rumblings

  Even as Ukraine called off a ceasefire and ordered troops to crack down on pro-Russia protests, Russia’s equity capital markets seemed to return further towards normality with a sale of $470m of the Moscow stock exchange. There is no contradiction between those two events and market participants should cheer the return of nuance.

  • 08 Jul 2014

• Levloan borrower clout stumbles, but will continue to grow

  The power of corporate borrowers in the leveraged loan market has taken a beating in the last three weeks. Investor pushback drove changes of terms on a series of deals, the most recent being the term loan ‘B’ portion of a €7.5bn facility for DE Master Blenders. But this is just a blip. Borrower clout in the leveraged market is still growing, and the shift to the dominance of covenant-lite deals looks inevitable.

  • 08 Jul 2014