Italian spree continues with Intesa and BPM

Italian FIG issuers continued their assault on the funding markets on Tuesday, with Intesa Sanpaolo and Banca Popolare Milano following Monday’s deals from UniCredit and UBI Banca. With Italy having overcome its recent political travails and the market enjoying a rally that some bankers fear is unsustainable, borrowers are falling over themselves to pre-fund for 2014 — a year which Moody's expects to be difficult for Italian banks.