Banks

World Bank broke its size and order book record in the sterling bond market on Tuesday with a maturity that has become the new sweet spot in the currency for SSA borrowers.

Greece hit the market with its longest bond since the sovereign debt crisis on Tuesday. Its boldness was rewarded by its strongest order book since it returned to capital markets.

The UK's National Grid followed up early January’s well-received green bond debut with a pair of green bond MTNs from a subsidiary, printing in currencies it rarely visits.

Austrian sensor maker AMS said on Tuesday that it intended to sell all its treasury shares, ahead of its looming €1.64bn rights issue to finance its takeover of Osram Licht, the German lighting manufacturer.

UPC, part of Liberty Global’s European telecoms empire, is marketing dollar and euro term loan ‘B’s to pay off a $1.14bn issue of 5.375% senior secured notes. The refinancing comes only a few months after Sunrise cancelled its takeover of UPC’s Swiss business — to the disappointed of Liberty.

Intermediate Capital Group, the UK alternative asset manager rated BBB by Fitch, is in the market for a seven year euro bond on Tuesday, according to two bankers away from the deal.

National Australia Bank attracted healthy demand for its £1bn five year Sonia-linked covered bond issued on Tuesday, pricing the deal much tighter than where Commonwealth Bank of Australia issued two weeks ago with more demand and at an equivalent cost of euro funding.

Société Générale has mandated leads for a green covered bond, the second to be issued under its Positive Impact framework. At the same time Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw is due with a sub-benchmark Pfandbrief.

Olaf Diaz-Pintado has been named head of Goldman Sachs’s cross markets group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while the bank has appointed new regional heads for its financial and strategic investors group.

Essity, the hygiene and health products company spun off by Sweden's SCA in 2017, slipped into the bond market with a €300m no-grow 10 year issue on Tuesday. The issuer was estimated to have paid a low single digit new issue premium.

Calisen Group, the UK operator of smart meters, has set a price range for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange, following a constructive investor education process. It will come at a discount to listed peers.

The European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed this week that it asked two financial institutions to take “remedial actions” to meet guidance levels of Pillar 2 capital.