Americas

Santander reckons it can harness the power of hydrogen to boost its standing in corporate and investment banking, building on its ESG credentials in similar way to how rivals built supremacy during the internet boom, writes David Rothnie.

Mexican non-bank lender Unifin Financiera is planning an eight year bond issue of up to $500m, with up to $200m set to come via an exchange offer for existing bonds. But bondholders participating in the exchange are unlikely to receive much by way of increased returns for pushing out their maturities.

Bond markets continue to offer Latin American sovereigns tight pricing down the dollar curve, with Panama and Paraguay on Wednesday becoming the latest pair to price dual tranche deals. But with rates curves having steepened this month amid the expectation of higher rates in the long term, bankers are sensing that the 10 year is becoming the sweet spot on the maturity curve.

Top US bankers are optimistic about their investment banking businesses for the start of 2021, after a stellar 2020 during which their clients rushed to financing markets to help them get through the Covid-19 crisis, and government and central banks provided essential support.

A new era has begun in the US, with the swearing in of Joe Biden as president. For America and the rest of the world it is a sea change in leadership style and political substance.

Chinese vape company RLX Technology raised $1.4bn from its US listing this week, pricing the deal above the marketed range after a huge turnout from investors.

Higher rates and execution certainty in the dollar bond market have given investors something to get excited about, with supply from financials in the currency outstripping that in euros so far this year.

Chile tapped bond markets for $4.25bn-equivalent of funding on Tuesday, starting with a 10 year green tap and new long-dated social bond in euros, and then following a similar playbook in US dollars.

Debt capital markets bankers covering Latin America continue to be impressed by the pace and variety of new issuance in January, with Guatemalan lender Banco Industrial the latest to join the primary pipeline.

SK Battery America, a subsidiary of South Korea's SK Innovation Co, found outstanding response for its green dollar bond on Tuesday. The firm was able to tighten pricing by 45bp, with the notes trading even tighter in the secondary market.

The relationship between the US and China, which has faced immense strain during Donald Trump’s presidency, is unlikely to get too much relief under the Biden administration. The biggest losers will be US banks and their capital markets business in Asia.

Cloopen Group Holding, a cloud-based communication provider, is planning to raise at least $100m from a US IPO of American depositary shares (ADS).