Banks

Italy passed a test at the long end of the curve with a final order book of over €41bn for a 30 year syndication on Wednesday — far surpassing its previous record book that was set only last month.

KfW set yet another landmark for a supranational and agency sterling market enjoying its best ever start to the year, as the German borrower drew a big book while placing the longest dated new issue of the year so far on Wednesday.

Here Technologies, the Dutch provider of mapping and location services, has signed a €500m credit facility. Some European loans bankers insist they are swamped with deals, even though they have just finished the quietest January for years.

First Derivatives, a UK technology company, has signed £130m of bank facilities, earmarking some of the funds to refinance an acquisition agreed last summer.

Gazprom, the Russian state oil and gas company, has released price guidance for its seven year dollar benchmark bond, offering a 15bp new issue concession, according to investors. Credit Bank of Moscow is also queued for a return to the international bond markets next week in euros. Russian issuers are re-emerging after some of the US sanctions were lifted last month, improving sentiment.

Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) may be playing it safe with its first dollar benchmark of the year, according to investors, amid uncertainty over the political future of Venezuela — one of its shareholders and the country in which it is headquartered.

Banco Santander opened books on a new additional tier one deal in dollars on Wednesday, surprising market participants who thought the Spanish bank would not refinance an older series of euro notes before their call date on March 12.

Concerns about a rapid debt-fuelled acquisition spree by UK and European veterinary group IVC left some investors reluctant to subscribe for its loans, particularly after a profit warning from another group in the sector. But fears proved unfounded as the deal was allocated at the tight end of guidance by Thursday.

Italy will test peripheral sovereign appetite in the long end after hitting screens on Tuesday for a 30 year syndication.

All three public sector borrowers in the euro market on Tuesday received record order books, despite the spreads tightening by up to 5bp during pricing — which left little to no concessions for investors.

Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) will break the silence of the public sector dollar market this week, after circulating initial price thoughts on Tuesday for its first benchmark of the year in the currency.

Analysts at the research house CreditSights expect that Canadian banks could soon start issuing more senior bonds for their total loss-absorbing capacity requirements (TLAC), having held back from the market after taking care of their funding needs with older forms of senior debt.