Americas

Financial services firm XP, which Moody’s describes as aiming to “disrupt the business model of incumbent banking institutions in Brazil”, is meeting fixed income investors ahead of a potential debut international bond issue 18 months after it priced an IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Bondholders of Mexican payroll lender AlphaCredit are facing very low recoveries, say credit analysts, after the company failed to pay a $15m coupon payment due on June 19 on its senior secured 2022s.

Mexican car parts maker Nemak is looking to become the latest Latin American company to issue a sustainability-linked bond, having begun investor meetings on Monday. Like other LatAm SLB issuers from the sector, Nemak is including a coupon step-up linked to Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions — though the company has a separate target to reduce its far more significant Scope 3 emissions.

The Federal Reserve made a hawkish lurch at its meeting last week and the consequences are still rippling through rates markets with just two SSA borrowers attempting deals in what could prove volatile markets.

Braskem, the Brazilian petrochemicals company downgraded to junk last year, will use cash to repurchase over $230m of bonds as it reduces its debt ratio to regain investment grade status.

Canadian telecommunications company Telus is set to print the nation’s first sustainability-linked bond, after launching its framework earlier this week. Fellow Canadian Enbridge could join Telus: the oil pipeline operator published its SLB framework on Thursday.

A pair of globally systematically important banks (G-SIBs) made rare visits to niche bond markets to raise senior debt at a group level this week, including a Canadian dollar market that is enjoying its busiest year for offshore financials since 2007.

Credit spreads held firm in the US corporate bond market on Thursday, despite a sell-off in Treasuries after the Federal Open Market Committee took a tone interpreted as hawkish. Three companies were tempted to issue.

Macquarie Group secured its tightest ever pricing for a dollar trade as it took advantage of strong funding conditions this week with a 144A/Reg senior offering.

Latin America bond market participants saw signs this week that risk appetite is waning, with recent deals under par in secondary markets. Added to a more hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve, bankers and investors expect issuance from the region to slow.

The sterling covered bond market exploded into life this week as three transactions worth more than £3bn priced in three days, increasing this year’s issuance by 150%, and boosting hopes that more deals will follow.

Korean Housing Finance Corporation mandated leads for a euro covered bond on Thursday, to be issued under its social framework. At the same time, after this week’s trio of sterling covered bonds bankers believe there is scope for further Sonia-linked supply.