Americas

Corporate bond issues came at a healthy clip in the US market this week, despite earnings blackouts, as investors showed a preference for highly rated paper.

Emerging markets bond buyers and issuers are regaining confidence as US Treasury volatility falls, with issuance in CEEMEA and Latin America having picked up in recent days and a pipeline building.

The Province of Ontario ended an absence of almost four years from the Swiss franc market this week to land a 12 year note at fair value. Elsewhere, Valiant Bank and Pfandbriefbank kept the domestic market ticking over with a handful of covered deals.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce returned to the euro covered bond market for its first deal since March 2020, issuing a highly subscribed €1bn eight year flat to fair value this week. At the same time Laurentian Bank said that its programme had received regulatory approval.

Laurentian Bank has received approval from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to establish a C$2bn legislative covered bond programme.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce returned to the euro covered bond market for its first deal since March 2020, issuing a highly subscribed €1bn eight year flat to fair value on Thursday.

The Mexican conglomerate Fomento Económico Mexicano (Femsa) was in the market for sustainability-linked bond in euros on Thursday, marking the latest in a string of innovative trades from the Latin America.

Bonds issued by Mexican payroll lender AlphaCredit lost around half their value on Wednesday after the company revealed a correction in its accounting of derivatives positions would lead to an impairment charge of Ps4.1bn ($206m). Investors and analysts said this would take the non-bank lender’s equity into negative territory, suggesting default was a growing inevitability.

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura on Wednesday became the third Latin America company this week to announce plans to issue sustainability-linked bonds, joining Mexicans Femsa and Metalsa in the pipeline.

Latin American oil and gas company GeoPark priced a reopening of its 2027 bonds with a negative new issue concession on Tuesday, taking advantage of strong demand from holders of its old notes to raise $150m.

Mark Manduca, a European equity research analyst at Citi, has been appointed as chief investment officer of GXO Logistics ahead of its spinoff from its New York-listed parent XPO Logistics.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, April 19. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.