Banks

Chunky books and shrinking new issue premiums were everywhere in Europe's high grade corporate bond market on Tuesday, as some investors said the market felt like it had found solid ground again after huge moves in recent weeks.

Ireland impressed on-looking supranational, sovereign and agency bond bankers on Tuesday as it received its largest ever order book for a syndication. It was not the only eurozone sovereign in the market as Cyprus printed seven and 30 year bonds.

The Swedish national debt office (Riksgälden) said on Tuesday that banks would have two extra years to raise non-preferred senior debt for their minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL). The announcement came a day after Svenska Handelsbanken sold an ordinary senior deal in the euro market.

UniCredit has said that it will redeem €2.5bn of tier two capital next month, with regulators allowing banks to manage their debt capital stacks freely during the coronavirus crisis.

The State of Qatar on Tuesday issued a $10bn three tranche bond, with a final demand book in excess of $44bn. The deal came in the wake of extreme oil price volatility, though Qatar has buffers to protect it against any major economic shocks.

A trade in Belgian-listed brewer AB InBev has reopened the secondary blocks market with a sale of a €375.35m block by South African Breweries on behalf of participants in the Zenzele Black Economic Empowerment Scheme.

The Republic of Indonesia turned to the bond market on Monday to fund its Covid-19 relief efforts, raising $4.3bn from a triple-tranche deal. Investor demand for long-dated tenors encouraged the country to offer a 50 year note as part of the trade, making it a first for Asian sovereigns.

European corporates found a strong bond market on Monday after raising a record amount of bond funding last week, as the European Central Bank pours money into high grade debt.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, followed the example of Danaher by reopening bonds that priced in the last few weeks. It raised another €500m on Monday, pricing well inside where it priced the original bonds at the end of March.

Robert Ritchie is joining Wells Fargo as head of banking and capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Eurozone sovereigns extend their syndication spree this week with Cyprus and Ireland mandating banks for new deals on Monday. Both sovereigns are preparing bigger funding programmes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Riverside Group has signed what it claims to be the first loan in the UK's social housing sector priced over the Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia), as signs of innovation continue in the loan market despite the crushing effect of the coronavirus pandemic.