Banks

Bankers working on Akesobio’s IPO are preparing for a tough allocation process as a flood of retail demand for the Hong Kong listing is set to leave little for institutional accounts, said a source close to the deal.

The CFO of Banco Santander Mexico told GlobalCapital that the lender had decided to get ahead of a possible surge in demand for credit by issuing the largest ever bond by a Mexican bank on Tuesday. But DCM and syndicate bankers worry that most Latin American issuers are not taking advantage of strong markets to shore up cash positions with the full impact of the Covid-19 crisis still unknown.

US banks ramped up reserves for credit losses, expanded credit lines and enjoyed bumper trading and debt underwriting volumes in the first quarter, according to results released on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti pulled off a €1bn dual tranche Covid-19 response bond on Wednesday, capitalising on investors’ desire to deploy cash into coronavirus instruments to ride out a difficult market.

Greece did not attract the huge reception from investors that it has grown used to over the last few years, despite paying a considerable new issue premium and being eligible for the European Central Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP).

High grade corporate bond investors piled into new deals again on Wednesday, with American Honda paying a lower than average new issue premium and Givaudan taking almost €18bn of orders for a dual tranche trade.

JP Morgan has taken an $820m writedown on its book of bridge loans, nearly halving its investment banking revenues for the first quarter. However, the bank is not hurrying to exit these positions. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said “a couple” of its bridges could be syndicated this quarter if conditions are supportive.

Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday became the fourth Canadian bank to issue an Australian dollar covered bond in April, pricing considerably tighter than its compatriots and in the largest size yet. The success the Canadians have enjoyed in Kangaroos is in stark contrast to a sterile sterling market.

Société Générale continued the streak of French bail-in bond issuance on Wednesday but had to pay a higher new issue premium compared to its compatriots.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) tapped the Indonesian rupiah market for its latest Covid-19 response bond this week, becoming the first SSA to print a response bond in an emerging market currency.

The Carlyle Group has raised Rp7.6bn ($100m) after selling most of its stake in Indian diagnostic laboratory chain Metropolis Healthcare, according to a source close to the deal.

Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) made its mark on the dollar bond market on Tuesday, raising $6bn from a deal that received orders of $37bn at its peak. This was despite a ratings outlook change to negative this week and headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic and volatile oil prices.