Banks

High grade corporate bond investors were given the choice between a green trade from Finnish paper company UPM-Kymmene Corp and a conventional trade from UK cigarette maker Imperial Brands on Monday, with some investors passing up on the cigarette company on ESG grounds.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond issuance pipeline is starting to swell for the week, with syndicate bankers confident that there is plenty of demand despite order books shrinking in the last week.

Repsol, the Spanish oil company, brought a speculative grade rated hybrid capital bond on Monday but orders fell away towards the end of the execution process as debt bankers say investors are becoming more price-sensitive.

BPCE returned to the public sterling market after a year away this week to issue the first offshore financial bond in about a fortnight.

Agence France Trésor (AFT), the French sovereign debt office, mandated banks on Monday to lead the sale of the sovereign’s second green OAT, returning to the market for the first time since its debut in 2017.

Barclays gave euro investors a rare chance to buy UK bank capital on Monday, as the issuer selected the currency for its second tier two of the year. Its €1bn transaction was four times subscribed at final terms.

The euro market burst into life with new FIG deals on Monday, as borrowers reacted to supportive comments from the European Central Bank last week. Bankers now expect plenty of supply to fill out the pre-Easter pipeline.

MUFG has for the first time chosen a single leader for its banking and securities divisions in EMEA. John Winter will take the post from April 1, meaning that the most senior executive in EMEA will be non-Japanese for the first time.

Paragon Banking Group is looking to issue a new debt capital instrument in green format, while at the same time offering holders of its existing tier twos a chance to exchange their bonds for cash.

Former Commerzbank CEO Martin Blessing has unveiled plans for a new special purpose acquisition company focused on financial technology in Europe, becoming the latest European banking executive to launch a Spac.

Hannover Re was able to price a new tier two through fair value on Monday, with analysts expecting the issuer to use its new bond to fund growth opportunities.

Chinese financial technology company Bairong has set its Hong Kong listing in motion after winning approval from the city’s bourse.