Banks

Amy West has been named global head of a new sustainable finance and corporate transitions group at TD Securities, which becomes the latest bank to launch a new unit working in this area.

Bank Austria UniCredit (Baca) and Bawag issued tightly priced and exceptionally well subscribed covered bonds this week, reflecting the scarcity of issuance from the region and in their chosen tenors.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB), two new supranational borrowers focused on the emerging markets, are preparing to issue new dollar bonds to support their member states in the fight against the pandemic.

Swedish debt purchaser Intrum sold a tap of its 4.875% 2025 unsecured notes on Wednesday, intending to use the funds to part-pay its revolving credit facility. With a strong backdrop, and plenty of RCF drawings still outstanding, the company increased the deal by €50m during syndication.

Nvidia, the US technology company, has agreed to buy UK chipmaker Arm Holdings for up to $40bn in cash and shares, while UK security firm G4S is fighting a £3bn hostile bid from Canadian rival GardaWorld, as the coronavirus pandemic brings out buyers.

RBC Capital Markets’ expansion in European investment banking came in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. A decade on, the coronavirus pandemic has presented it with a very different set of challenges.

Coventry Building Society struggled to build much momentum behind the sale of a new senior bond this week, as the sterling market proved especially vulnerable to new fears around Brexit.

Amadeus IT group, the Spanish travel technology company, and German logistics company Kion Group offered corporate bond investors the chance to pick up riskier debt on Thursday, as the demand for higher yielding securities drives large parts of the primary market.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is readying its second dollar bond of the year, which will be used to support its member states in the fight against the pandemic.

Altice France leapt straight into the market after Friday’s surprise announcement that owner and founder Patrick Drahi would be taking the company private. Research from Federated Hermes shows that the credit spread premium for a private company has dropped to virtually zero for the first time in 20 years.

French visual effects and digital services company Technicolor has finished a €330m recapitalisation as part of its efforts to exit from bankruptcy proceedings.

Dutch DIY group Maxeda launched a refinancing this week which pushed up its rating, after it took out its 2022s with new 2026 bonds, taking any liquidity constraints for the triple-C rated chain firmly off the table. Despite the pandemic, the retailer has been successfully deleveraging, helped by a boom in home improvements during lockdown.