Barclays

Appetite for eurozone sovereigns is showing no signs of slowing down after Ireland and Portugal joined Belgium this week in scoring their largest ever syndication order books. Several other borrowers sold euro trades on Wednesday, with more supply expected this week as the pipeline has “accelerated” ahead of next week’s parliamentary vote on the UK’s Brexit deal.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Wednesday became the third public sector borrower to issue an inaugural Sonia-linked bond in 2019, with the deal marking the borrower’s largest sterling bond to date.

The proportion of overall issuance in US private placements sold by UK borrowers may have risen to over 20% for the first time in years.

After a run of triple-B rated corporate bond issuance, A-rated names have returned to the market and paid lower premiums than the higher beta issuers had, but 10.75 years remains the longest tenor to date.

Israel hit the market on Wednesday with a dual tranche euro deal, looking to test demand at the long end of the yield curve. The country’s reputation as a quality issuer appears to have carried it through.

The European Investment Bank and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten showed the strength of the dollar market on Tuesday as they sparked the sector into life for 2019 with benchmarks offering minimal concession. Another pair of SSAs are hoping to emulate that success on Wednesday.

Belgium and KfW received well oversubscribed order books for 10 year euro benchmarks on Tuesday, with several public sector borrowers set to follow in the euro market this week.

The International Finance Corp sold its joint biggest sterling bond by volume with its debut Sonia-linked bond on Tuesday, adding to the flurry of trades in the format since the start of the year. But the Sonia rush is “not over yet”, according to a banker at one of the leads, with a few more on the horizon before the UK parliament votes on Theresa May's Brexit deal next week.

Slovenia hit screens with the first sovereign bond of 2019 on Monday, undergoing some price discovery but closing a successful deal and paving the way for other countries to follow suit.

French telecoms operator Orange ensured the cobwebs were blown off the corporate bond market on Tuesday when it launched the first multi-tranche offering of 2019, which included the longest tenor of the year to date and the year’s first sterling corporate bonds in its four tranches.

The dollar market for public sector borrowers begins in earnest on Wednesday with a pair of borrowers out with benchmarks and bankers confident the deals will go well thanks to a demand/supply imbalance. The trades follow a small floater tap from a supranational on Monday that was the first syndicated deal of the year in the currency.

The corporate bond market saw its second day of issuance in the new year on Monday when French multi-utility Veolia and Belgian electricity grid operator Elia sold new deals.