Americas

Argentina has been a pariah among international creditors for years, but its new, pro-business president may reopen the door to foreign investors — the question for derivatives players is how they can take part.

MasterCard, the US credit card payments company, raised €1.65bn on Monday with its first euro bonds - and only its third bond issue ever.

Emerging market bond investors say that Argentine lender, Banco Hipotecario could this week price a $250m five year deal in what would be a stern test of market appetite for the country following Mauricio Macri’s election as president.

Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) will buy back $640m of senior unsecured notes at a discount, taking advantage of sub par dollar prices and its strong cash position to reduce its debt burden.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has launched Data as a Service (DaaS), a solution that the company claims will transform the way data is accessed and presented from its clearing, settlement, servicing and trade reporting platforms.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has created five options-based strategy performance benchmark indices that aim to help investors improve risk management and returns.

A Canadian province braved the five year spot in dollars on Friday. A healthy spread over US Treasuries prompted strong demand despite negative five year swap spreads, which has caused other issuers to avoid this part of the curve.

Mauricio Macri’s victory in Sunday’s Argentine presidential elections signals a new era for the country and should lead to a further rally in the sovereign’s bonds, at least in the short term, say market analysts.

Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa sold $1.2bn of 10 and 30 year bonds on Thursday to reignite a Latin American bond market that some had suggested was heading for early hibernation.

Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian government-owned development bank, on Monday became the latest financial institution from the country to look to take advantage of depressed bond prices by repurchasing debt below par.

With the most business-friendly candidate boasting a lead of at least eight points in opinion polls ahead of the second round of Argentina’s presidential elections this Sunday, bankers are hoping Argentina can once again play an important role in Latin American bond markets.

The leveraged finance market suffered an unpleasant shock this week, when $5.6bn of loans and bonds for the Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Veritas Software had to be pulled. Bankers were left blaming market sentiment, an aggressive structure — and each other, write Max Bower and Victor Jimenez.