Bank of America

Apple and Walt Disney starred in the US corporate bond market this week, as the market roared back from the Labor Day holiday with a huge stack of deals that bankers said had broken the record for a single week in the US corporate and financial institution bond market.

The dollar SSA market saw a clear schism this week between the maturities investors favour, with shorter end trades tightening pricing while longer maturity deals were forced to print in line with initial price thoughts.

This year’s second Turkish bank refinancing wave has started and borrowers are pushing hard for tighter pricing. Akbank is expected to set the benchmark for its peers by securing tighter margins on its upcoming loan refi.

Investors were given a double dose of green paper from the Philippines this week, as Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) rolled out a $300m sustainability bond a day after Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) sealed a green deal.

CCB Leasing added $300m to its 3.5% 2024 bonds on Wednesday, taking the total size of the transaction to $800m.

Five new corporate bond issues including a €3bn issue from AT&T hit the market on Wednesday, after Danaher had completed its €6.25bn deal on Tuesday, leaving room for more companies to borrow.

SSA issuers of dollar bonds were able to push harder on spread than they have in recent weeks on Wednesday, surprising syndicate bankers away from the deals.

A new flurry of investment grade corporate bond issuers jumped into the market on Wednesday morning, after Danaher priced its €6.25bn five-tranche Reverse Yankee note. Getting that deal out of the way gave other corporate borrowers room to bring bonds of their own — and plenty are expected to in the run-up toe the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement on September 12.

South Korea’s Hyundai Capital Services pulled a dollar bond sale on Tuesday due to poor market conditions. Bankers away from the transaction blamed the failure on excess supply in the US.

Chinese local government financing vehicle (LGFV) Zhangzhou Jiulongjiang Group Co reopened the post-summer bond market with a $500m deal, making its debut in dollars.

The dollar SSA market burst into life on Tuesday, but some bankers say that the tight spreads and low yields on offer mean there is little guarantee any of the trades will be easy.

US corporate bond desks are braced for the busiest month of the year when September supply kicks off after the Labor Day holiday on September 2, but negative rates in Europe have raised the prospect of US companies shunning the dollar market.