Americas

Ontario printed a first green bond off its domestic medium term note programme this week, and the deal was over six times covered. Demand for green provincial paper is high, with Ontario coming a week after neighbouring Quebec.

Export Development Canada has mandated banks for its first dollar benchmark of the year in what has been a quiet week in the currency for public sector borrowers. SSA bankers expect activity in dollars to pick-up next week, despite a US public holiday on Monday.

Arion Bank showed its eagerness to issue additional tier one (AT1) capital on Thursday as Icelandic banks get ready to benefit from a change in the national tax treatment of the instruments.

Though Latin America bond markets have so far dodged the brunt of global volatility related to Covid-19, the official name of the coronavirus outbreak, the region’s commodity dependence makes it particularly vulnerable to a China slowdown, say analysts.

Wells Fargo has reorganised its group structure, including hiving out its corporate and investment bank as a separate business line and giving it a new leader.

Canada’s DRI Capital is preparing to list a new fund on the London Stock Exchange focused on investing in pharmaceuticals royalties.

Argentina’s economy ministry argued that it was acting with “simple” logic after deciding to include a domestic law dual currency bond owned mostly by foreigners in its external debt restructuring on Tuesday afternoon.

Argentina's plans to restructure $67bn of debt in under two month may look naive to some but the ambition and good communication the government has so far demonstrated point towards a good outcome.

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT), the London-listed investment trust that focuses on investment in energy efficiency, is targeting ambitious growth in 2020. Its CEO talks GlobalCapital through its plans.

Mexico’s second largest lender Banco Mercantil del Norte (Banorte) returned to the Swiss franc market for the fourth time in under two years on Monday.

Brazilian hospital operator Rede D’Or became the third Latin American company in a week to tap recently issued bonds as the region’s fixed income markets continue to defy coronavirus-related volatility elsewhere.

The value of the riskier tranche of the World Bank’s pandemic bond has been discounted — but not by very much — as the coronavirus outbreak infects more people outside of China and therefore comes closer to triggering a payout from the notes.