Bank of America

US companies have smashed the all time record for bond issuance this month, as they plundered the dollar market in a headlong dash for liquidity that continued on Thursday, even though a darker record was broken: 3.3m new unemployment claims, more than four times the previous highest.

A trio of UK companies drew down on their revolving credit facilities this week, as firms in the country build up their cash piles despite an unprecedented financial support package from the government.

Europe’s corporate bond market showed the same kind of energy on Tuesday that the US market did three times last week, as a clutch of blue chip issuers launched new deals on the very first day of stability the market offered. Sanofi found huge demand and only a slight slowness from the UK being in lockdown.

Diageo, the UK distiller and brewer, poured a triple tranche trade into Tuesday's busy primary corporate bond market, as syndicate bankers said the high grade companies on screen were the some of the best names to raise spirits.

Germany's Covestro and the UK's 3i have both signed new revolving credit facilities with terms that were agreed before the Covid-19 pandemic sent markets plunging, but lenders said that new deals will have far higher margins.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has hired Bank of America and UBS to lead a secondary listing in Hong Kong, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

That nine US companies and banks should launch bonds the day after a 12% fall in the S&P 500 index, the worst since 1987, is astonishing, but probably shows that companies are anxious to bank large quantities of cash in case markets get worse. The barrage of issuance comes despite core fixed income markets such as Treasuries, swaps and commercial paper being under strain.

The commercial paper market is emerging as a source of stress as financial markets creak under the pressure of the coronavirus crisis. This happened in the 2007-9 financial crisis too, but this time the strains are different. Market participants want central banks to act.

Garanti BBVA has launched the first environmental, social and governance loan from Turkey's banking sector, as the syndicated loan primary market continues to be one of the few hardy spots in a financial system hit by the coronavirus and oil price panic.

SBI Cards and Payments Services has priced its Rp103.4bn ($1.4bn) IPO at the top of the range and was allocating the stock to investors on Wednesday.

SBI Cards and Payment Services was riding high on Thursday after a rush of institutional investor demand pushed its billion-dollar IPO through a coronavirus-driven slump in local and global markets this week. Jonathan Breen reports.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has launched a take-private bid for UK based healthcare marketing and PR firm Huntsworth, bidding an enterprise value of £524m for the company. The debt financing for the deal is a $295m term loan and a £35m revolver provided by Royal Bank of Canada.