Banks

Rating: Aaa/AA/AAA

Financial institutions jumped into action this week, as positive news on the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to superlative funding conditions in the euro market.

NatWest Group and Société Générale reopened the additional tier one (AT1) market to some fanfare this week, as investors showed they were hungry for yield by snapping up the deals.

Allianz drew attention to an overlooked corner of the insurance bond market this week, when it became the first household name to sell a restricted tier one (RT1) deal. The arrangers think the roaring success of the transaction will help the asset class to attract a much more mainstream following.

A trio of rare issuers found a window for issuance in the FIG bond market on Thursday, with Nykredit and Hamburg Commercial Bank accessing a tightening senior non-preferred market, while Íslandsbanki launched Iceland's first ever sustainable bond

Jefferies has enjoyed a record year in European investment banking, powered by equity capital markets, writes David Rothnie.

Adidas, the German sportswear company, has signed a €1.5bn loan to replace an emergency facility from KfW signed during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. It has raised €3bn of debt since taking the crisis loan.

World Bank gave the flagging volumes in the SSA Kangaroo bond market a huge boost this week by printing the biggest ever bond in the sector in a single outing with a combined A$1.65bn ($1.19bn) deal across two tranches.

The clamour for green bonds was on display in the corporate market on Thursday when UPM-Kymmene, the Finnish pulp and paper company, had its debut green issue more than six times oversubscribed, while a conventional bond for Swedish truck maker Scania found more modest demand.

French agency Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations finished its 2020 syndicated funding programme with a visit to the Swiss market this week, printing an extremely tight deal through the high quality domestic covered bond curve.

Toyota Motor Credit Corp, the Japanese car finance company, opened books for a £500m six year bond on Thursday, as syndicate bankers said next week’s new issue market would be busy.

Italy held a series of investor calls on Thursday in preparation for a trip to the dollar bond market. Italy returned to the currency last year after almost a decade away, and announced that it intends to access the market every year.