Banks

The Republic of Slovenia debuted in the sustainable bond market this week when it sold its third debt offering of the year. It is only a matter of time, bankers said, before sovereigns across central and eastern Europe embrace the ESG debt markets.

Spain raised €8bn this week with its fourth syndication of the year, demonstrating that in spite of the Next Generation EU’s €20bn debut last week, the euro market still has plenty of depth. Concerns about hedge funds placing enormous orders are starting to recede, said bankers on the deal.

UBS sold its first green bond this week, bringing the deal at the tightest euro senior spread of the year so far. Further labelled issuance is set to follow, with UniCredit preparing a green debut of its own.

Snam, the Italian energy infrastructure company, managed only a tepid reaction from the market on Thursday with a 10 year transition bond, as highly rated names continue to find it tough to get full throated support at such tight levels.

HSBC’s quest to gain market share in investment banking took another turn this week with the latest revamp of its corporate finance structure in the US, which took place against a backdrop of relocations and reshuffles around the world, writes David Rothnie.

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, the Italian state-owned railway company, has refinanced its main bank line, bumping up the size to €2.5bn as the company earmarks some of the money for capital expenditure.

The ESG loan market has had a busy week, with Swedish ingredients company AAK and German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd agreeing sustainability-linked and green debt.

Barclays has poached a leading real estate investment banker from JP Morgan in a move rivals say could lead to shift in banking relationships.

Italy brought a rare format to market on Thursday, selling its first syndicated CCTeu floating rate note in over a decade to extend its curve in this format of issuance.

Animal healthcare company Huvepharma has opened the books on its €463m IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

Glarner Kantonalbank dipped into the tier two market this week to raise an index eligible bond that may fund the redemption of the additional tier one (AT1) the bank rolled over in December due to coronavirus volatility. GLKB was joined on screens by a flurry of financial activity out of Chile.

Generali was in the market for a tier two bond with a sustainability label on Thursday, its first issue from its newly minted framework.