Americas

BNP Paribas has hired from Standard Chartered to bolster its Latin American debt capital markets team, GlobalCapital understands.

Mexico’s deputy finance minister told GlobalCapital that proceeds from Wednesday’s $6bn blow-out bond would not be used to help state oil giant Pemex, despite several investors believing the government needed to issue more to prop up the debt-laden company with oil price having crashed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico will continue to monitor international markets even after printing a $6bn triple-tranche deal on Wednesday, and this might include a buy-back of green bonds that were issued to finance the construction of a new airport that ended up being cancelled by the current administration.

Argentina's bonds slipped again in secondary markets after finance minister Martín Guzmán confirmed to local media that the government had no plans to pay $503m of coupon payments due on Wednesday, despite the fact the move had already been widely anticipated.

Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the operator of 35 airports in the country, is asking bondholders for temporary relief on amortisation and coupon payments as it looks to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its cash flow.

Central American development bank Cabei will hold investor calls this week as it prepares to bring its first 144A bond in nearly eight years.

Financial institutions with funding needs that are holding off in anticipation of better issuance conditions are doing it wrong. Waiting until the other side of earnings season to bring deals will likely prove a mistake.

Canadian banks should be applauded for funding themselves in public with deals bought by real investors in a range of currencies at actual market clearing levels — astonishing though that may be for the many entitled European issuers that have shamelessly become accustomed to central bank funding.

The prices of Western Canada Select and West Texas Intermediate dropped below zero during trading on Monday, spelling trouble for issuers in the already underperforming Norwegian krone and Canadian dollar.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) completed a capitalisation on Monday, increasing its authorised capital from $5bn to $7bn.

A swift, firm rejection from the bondholder group considered to hold most sway in Argentina’s restructuring negotiations effectively closed the doors on any chance of success for the government’s first offer less than one business day after it had announced terms.

Latin American bond markets, barely back on their feet after the initial onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, had to contend on Monday with an unprecedented collapse in oil prices too. The sight of WTI trading below zero made some market participants nervous and suggested issuers with funding needs should brace for unexpected bouts of volatility.