Bank of America

For the first time this year the supply of covered bonds issued in currencies other than the euro led primary flows. Issuers in Australia, Canada and Norway launched benchmarks in dollars and sterling leaving euro issuance trailing.

Santander and UniCredit reopened the door to the additional tier one market this week only to find what lay behind it was a very different dynamic from the one borrowers experienced before summer. An expected burst of supply is on the way and historically low coupons are causing investors to shy away from the AT1 from major European banks.

National Australia Bank attracted a high level of European demand for a dollar denominated deal on Tuesday. The unusually broad distribution paid testimony not only to the novel syndication approach, but also the tempting outright yield relative to what would have been seen in euros.

Swiss Re drew an almost four times oversubscribed order book for a debut dated dollar subordinated debt issue on Thursday. The deal showed that appetite for sub debt remains robust among investors, even following starkly reduced demand for additional tier one paper deals from Santander and UniCredit earlier this week.

Bank of America and Citi took to the euro market on Wednesday with self-led trades, pricing seven and 12 year notes respectively. More US issuers are likely to consider selling euro debt in coming weeks, drawn by access to longer dated funding and attractive pricing compared with dollars.

A trio of issuers printed oversubscribed deals in dollars this week, including the Inter-American Development Bank’s largest ever dollar global. More borrowers are eyeing issuance in the currency given the impressive levels of demand on offer, although holidays next week will make windows of issuance few and far between.

The wave of acquisition financings kicked off this week as Marathon Petroleum exploited the recent sharp rally rates and caught investors in eager mood following the August lull.

Deutsche Lufthansa, the German national airline, announced on Thursday plans for a €500m five year bond, its first since 2009.

Colombian utility Empresas Públicas de Medellín, has sold a COP965.745bn global peso deal at a yield of 7.625%. The note was three times subscribed, according to a syndicate official away from the deal, who added that the deal was a positive indicator of growing local currency demand.

Bookrunners were quick to point the finger at Korea Development Bank (KDB) after its new bond this week drew few orders and then sold off in secondary. But while KDB acknowledged the $750m deal had been priced aggressively, the issuer said it was following strategies recommend by its syndicate banks, writes Virginia Furness.

Swiss Re drew an almost four times oversubscribed order book for its debut dated dollar sub print on Thursday, with leads pricing the deal inside of initial price thoughts. The deal shows that appetite for sub debt remains robust among investors, even following starkly reduced demand in the market for additional tier one paper for prints from Santander and UniCredit earlier this week.

Mexican building material suppliers and cement producer Cemex is selling euro and dollar bonds to fund the buyback of the company’s dollar 2018s and 2020s. The Reg S/144A notes will be priced later on Thursday.