Americas

A group of Suriname’s bondholders said they plan to support the government’s bid for a temporary debt standstill after the sovereign amended a consent solicitation to incorporate some of their requests.

Paraguay’s largest commercial lender, Banco Continental, hopes its planned issuance of sustainability bonds will be an example for other issuers to follow, stating in its sustainability bond framework that its commitment to sustainable development is “inherently linked” to Paraguay’s historical dependence on the agriculture and livestock sectors.

The merger of S&P Global and IHS Markit, announced on Monday, will create a larger data provider for financial markets.

The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, is adding a “negative screening” process to its purchases of corporate bonds under its quantitative easing programme, meaning it will no longer buy the bonds of the most polluting companies.

Having entered default on Thursday, November 26 as the 30-day grace period on a missed coupon payment expired, Suriname has improved the terms on a consent solicitation that — if accepted by at least three quarters of bondholders — would allow it to escape the default and buy time for a more comprehensive debt restructuring.

The coronavirus pandemic means many parts of the US are experiencing an unusual festive period. But emerging markets sovereigns broke another Thanksgiving tradition by flooding primary bond markets with new deals on what is usually a quiet week for new issues — even as levels of stress are rising sharply at the riskier end of the asset class. Oliver West and Mariam Meskin report.

The Province of Neuquén has become the fourth Argentine regional or local government to wrap up a debt restructuring this year. But with most provincial issuers struggling to reach agreements with creditors, several provinces’ bondholders have joined forces to bolster their negotiating position. This may help bondholders force the provinces to offer deals that are better than those the national government wants both sides to make.

MUFG is overhauling personnel and its business model to try to escape a cycle of low returns, writes David Rothnie.

US corporate bond bankers predict a final flurry of issuance before year end, though there have been no deals this week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, and after treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin moved to stop some quantitative easing.

More airlines are expected to issue new shares and convertible bonds over the coming months as the industry prepares for a recovery in 2021, spurred by the widespread availability of Covid-19 vaccines.

Guatemala has settled a long-running legal dispute with Florida-based Teco Energy, allowing it to pay bondholders and avoid defaulting on an international bond.

Central American sovereign Belize could be at risk of requiring yet another rescheduling of its bond payments, said analysts, as its debt reaches unsustainable levels and with the temporary relief that creditors granted earlier in the pandemic likely to be insufficient.