Americas

The US Department of Financial Services has fined the New York branch of Agricultural Bank of China $215m for violating local anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The regulator also said that the bank obscured dollar clearing transactions of Chinese and Russian companies, apparently by issuing counterfeit and falsified invoices.

Renaissance Capital has hired a new head of international equity capital markets, and its US subsidiary RenCap Securities has added two senior bankers to its fixed income, currencies and commodities team.

Who will win the US presidential election on November 8 was far from clear this week. But it looks increasingly likely that a Donald Trump win could bring 2016's primary capital markets activity to an abrupt halt.

The US stock market and the dollar have been falling since last week, as fears have grown that Donald Trump might win the US presidency in Tuesday's election.

Emerging markets borrowers may be well funded but they are still not prepared for a Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election next week. While borrowers have completed the majority of their funding for the year, the market is positioned for a Clinton victory, and should she lose, a big sell-off is expected to ensue, particularly in Latin America, as investors look for safe haven assets.

Long-languished plans to centrally clear foreign exchange derivatives have been jump-started back to life, claimed dealers who are optimistic that a cleared FX options contract could be available to trade within the coming months and pave the way for further progress in the asset class.

High grade dollar issuance got off to a slow start in November as event risk dominated the minds of borrowers and investors ahead of the US elections.

A shift of momentum in the US presidential race has sent tremors through derivatives markets this week, with equity implied volatility ramping up, credit index spreads widening and the Mexican peso slumping against the dollar.

The FIG primary market has largely remained quiet ahead of the US election on November 8, and some borrowers desiring funding have even sought ways around having to get caught up in its aftermath.

The EMEA loans market has been so far unruffled by next week’s US presidential elections — even if in the US itself deal flow has paused and the consequences of the vote could be far reaching, according to several loans bankers.

Argentinian debut international issuer Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) raised $300m on Wednesday, and while it offered a large pick-up over the sovereign, rival bankers were impressed that investor demand has extended to lesser known names in the region.

National Bank of Canada became the first North American lender to sell a Panda bond on Wednesday, raising Rmb3.5bn ($517m) from a three year note. What stood out, however, was not the deal execution but how the lender managed to convince the regulators that the sale aligns with China’s Belt and Road initiative.