Banks

Bond being prepared as more Italian agencies have accessed the market this year

Credit Suisse has made cuts to its convertible bonds business in EMEA as part of its sweeping restructuring

Italian pharmacy group to refinance €460m of debt and pursue acquisitions

SSA issuers look to private placements to meet annual funding targets

ALD expects to close its takeover of Leaseplan in the first quarter of 2023

Fossil fuel companies seen as changing faster are feeling the benefit in pricing

Bank pounces on credit rally with opportunistic trade to end its funding for the year

Easing inflation, slowing rate rises and stabilising spreads should encourage issuers to return

As the world came out of the coronavirus pandemic, bond market conditions in 2022 did the opposite of what was expected of them and sharply deteriorated. Rising inflation, in part a result of the war in Ukraine, supply bottlenecks and fast tightening central banks all hurt banks’ abilities to access stable funding in international markets. Accessing unsecured primary financing, even senior debt, was no mean feat as new issue premiums moved higher for most of the year on top of skyrocketing spreads. Refinancing subordinated bonds at economic levels was far more challenging amid extreme volatility that brought back memories of the 2008 global financial crisis. Four bellwether deals are recognised this year for their market-leading achievements and successful execution that empowered the rest of the FIG market in Europe. They not only re-opened market access to a broader issuer base but also gave much needed confidence boost to battered investors. By Atanas Dinov and Frank Jackman.

Investment bank files for European direct lending fund

Director of investment banking is one of three hires in Dublin

The hospital operator completed a €107.6m deal