Banks

Domestic bank consolidation has returned to the top of the agenda, but for financial institutions bankers, unlocking the most lucrative relationships requires years of coverage and an ability to look beyond the quick fix of M&A, writes David Rothnie.

InterContinental Hotels (IHG), the UK hotel group, sold sterling and euro debt on Thursday without paying a concession, as market technicals and the potential for a substantial coupon increase proved enough to sweep away investors’ concerns about the sector.

DNB Boligkreditt on Thursday issued its first euro covered bond since January 2019 in large size, pricing inside its own curve — once again underscoring the strong technical backdrop to the market.

Hungarian oil and gas company Mol on Thursday raised a seven year bond in euros.

National Bank of Greece (NBG) has become the lowest rated bank to issue green debt, after winning two times as much demand as it needed for a €500m senior bond on Thursday. The trade formed part of a flurry of green issuance in the FIG market, alongside new deals from Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel and Mizuho Financial Group.

Eureden, a French food co-operative, has signed about €550m of sustainability linked loans, with part of the money earmarked for acquisitions.

The Province of Mendoza has become the first Argentine province to complete a restructuring of its international bonds this year after a proposal, amended twice, achieved enough backing to trigger the collective action clause (CAC).

The Development Bank of Japan will kick-off a series of investor calls on Thursday for its first sustainability bond under its freshly updated framework, which includes assets related to its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Europe’s high grade primary market chugged on with a handful of trades on Wednesday, but syndicate bankers acknowledge that supply looks to be muted in what should usually be a hectic period.

Gabriel Levy, who starts as Natixis's global head of debt capital markets on Thursday, says that the bank has made its FIG business more balanced, while its SSA franchise needs to speed up growth outside of France.

Japan Tobacco lit up the corporate market on Wednesday with its debut euro hybrid. The borrower built an order book six times the deal size, despite some parts of the market claiming that investors are shunning the sector.

Singapore’s DBS Bank ventured into the Kangaroo market on Wednesday in search of tier two debt. Though Australian dollar tier two volumes have remained stable year on year, there is a marked decline in offshore issuance so far in 2020.