The financial institutions unsecured bond market in euros has been a ghost town since war broke out in the Middle East almost three weeks ago. No European bank has brought a deal since late February.
A few have, however, issued successfully in dollars, including HSBC and Danske Bank.
The standard justification for the euro's halt is energy dependency. Europe imports oil and gas from the Middle East. The US does not.
So when Middle Eastern energy supply is compromised, the argument goes, dollar markets hold firm while euro sentiment deteriorates.
There is some truth in this. But oil is priced in dollars, and energy shocks are global, higher prices cause inflation everywhere, the US included.
Issuers resorting to the dollar market in times of trouble comes more from habit, not the US being immune to energy shocks.
Habit can be a good guide — it's another word for experience. But the dollar's track record of accepting deals even in challenging markets is based on pragmatism.
US investors are not charities — they expect issuers to pay up when markets are volatile, and they do.
North American issuers bring this etiquette with them when they fund overseas, too.
Amazon broke the euro corporate bond record last week with a €14.5bn deal, but it compensated investors for the size.
This week Bank of Montreal reopened euro senior FIG issuance, closed since the war began.
On the most conservative estimate, the new issue concession was a “couple of basis points” on each tranche. Some away from the deal put the longer, non-fall five year tranche at a 10bp premium, but 5bp is probably closer.
Should issuers be scared of that?
These are far from painful numbers, especially as spreads are still unusually low after European banks' spell of strong profitability as eurozone rates normalised.
A US technology company and a Canadian bank being able to find investor appetite in euros is about more than just anxiously seeking to diversify funding abroad.
There is something here for European banks to take heed of.
If they flee to the dollar market every time funding conditions deteriorate, euro investors will never get to show their risk appetite, nor what premiums they require in stressed times.
Without being put through its paces, the euro market cannot progress to the next stage of its evolution towards rivalling the depth and resilience of dollars.
President Trump has shown the world that the US is not the reliable ally it once was. Global markets' latest spasms are his doing, once again.
For Europe's capital markets, that presents an opportunity: to reinforce the continent's financial autonomy and grow foreign savings in euro assets at a moment when US unpredictability has created space for an alternative.
European banks should be embarrassed that north American issuers seem bolder in tapping the euro market than they are.
For reasons of self-interest, and to build up and showcase the strength of Europe's domestic market, European banks should grit their teeth, search in their pockets for some new issue premium, and bring some deals in euros.