Barclays

The dollar SSA market at the end of 2018 was in stark contrast to euros, despite the latter outstripping it in volume over the year. Even uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s rate path in 2019 seems unlikely to shake the fortitude of the currency as a funding source for SSAs. But finding windows could become trickier as the Fed pulls liquidity amid global trade wars and rising populism.

Corporate bond bankers in the US are predicting a further 10% fall in dollar supply in 2019 as more volatility and an expected fall in US M&A activity hits issuance. The predictions come after supply for December hit its lowest level on record.

Due to the lack of new issuance for over a week in the European corporate bond markets, the vote of no confidence in UK prime minister Theresa May was the talk of both the buy and sell sides on Wednesday morning. But there has been little effect on the market itself so far where political developments in other European states are more of a concern.

With the UK in turmoil just over three months before its date of departure from the European Union, a core section of the bank bond investor base is refusing to get out of its sizable position in UK bank debt.

China’s Haitong Securities priced a dual-currency transaction on Thursday, heading to the euro market for cheaper funding. Another issuer, Peking University Founder Group, was looking to price an up to €100m deal on Friday.

Rating: Aa2/AA+

Eurofima, the supranational institution which finances European rolling stock, took advantage of the strong market conditions on Monday to sell a well oversubscribed debut green bond.

At least three high-grade borrowers in the US bond market stood down on Thursday as supply windows snapped shut and scotched hopes of a final flurry of supply before year end.

Widening spreads for UK financial firms have opened up attractive opportunities for investors comfortable with the underlying resilience of the sector. Despite the risks that Brexit and competition from new sources pose, there were no failures in the Bank of England's stress test last week.

Policy lender China Development Bank printed a dual-currency, three-tranche transaction on Tuesday, raising $2.4bn-equivalent. While it paid just a couple of basis points of new issue premium for the dollar bonds amid a short-lived market rally, demand for the euro portion exceeded expectations.

Eurofima received strong demand for its first green bond on Monday, with the leads attributing the success to the timing of the transaction.

Element Materials Technology, the UK materials testing company owned by Bridgepoint, was looking for a small loan extension this week, and seeking consent from its investors for higher leverage ratios under the loan covenants.