Banks

AIIB made its dim sum debut this week into a booming market. A slew of deals has been sold in recent weeks, with more paper printed in last the last 10 days than in the whole of any other year, except for 2019.

German equity capital markets are off to a flying start this year, buoyed by a rally in the DAX and renewed interest in European equities among US investors. There is renewed optimism about deals to come, including several of this year’s largest European IPOs.

Credit Suisse became the first issuer of additional tier one (AT1) paper market in dollars this year, seizing the high levels of appetite for this asset class to print through fair value.

UK chemicals giant Ineos’s German styrenics subsidiary is marketing €500m of senior secured notes and a €680m equivalent term loan B, with an intention to issue a €300m dividend to its parent company, controlled by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. The remaining proceeds will be used for refinancing all of its term loans and some of the upcoming investments.

The stars have aligned for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena following its rescue by the Italian state. It is hard to see how other banks could be so fortunate.

High grade corporate names kicked off the 2020 sterling market in style this week, with big books and eye-catching trades for the University of Oxford, Clarion Housing and Ireland's Electricity Supply Board.

The International Development Association (IDA) impressed with its debut sterling bond on Thursday, as it received the largest ever order book for the currency in the SSA market. It also equalled the biggest ever trade in sterling by a non-UK public sector borrower.

The European socially responsible investment corporate bond market has made a rampant start this year, with issuance in the first two weeks already more than 10% of the total issued by companies in European currencies in 2019.

Eni, the Italian oil and gas company, raised €1bn with a bond issue on Thursday, while Quadient, the unrated French postal systems company formerly known as Neopost, continued the run of more esoteric corporate bond issuance.

US issuers are tapping into favourable conditions the euro bond market after reporting their latest results. Goldman Sachs and New York Life Insurance were quick to launch senior bonds on Thursday, boosting supply volumes just as European lenders start preparing for their own reporting season.

Ibercaja Banco was said to have steered a new tier two bond through fair value on Thursday, when the Spanish lender also announced the results of a tender for some of its existing capital securities.

Private capital in central and eastern Europe is gaining traction after a decade of diminished enthusiasm from international investors. Local firms continue to dominate the region's private equity and direct lending markets, but some international players are eyeing them again, while others remain cautious.