Barclays

UK healthcare property company Assura extended the recent run of sterling corporate bond issuance on Thursday when its debut deal became the third trade issued in the currency in as many days.

The Bank of England has clarified how it will set hurdle rates for banks in its 2018 stress test, featuring systemic risk buffers for the first time and changing the way in which Pillar 2 requirements are calculated through the duration of the exercise.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on Tuesday priced a €4bn dual-tranche transaction, tapping into a fairly unusual tenor of 35 years.

A survey of 2,350 bankers has found that NatWest Markets, HSBC and Barclays had the largest proportion of bankers saying they were happy with their 2018 bonuses, while Société Générale, Citi and BNP Paribas had the lowest proportion.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) raised $3.5bn from a triple-tranche bond deal in its first outing in the dollar market since November.

The European Investment Bank is set to bring the first five year dollar benchmark from an SSA in nearly three weeks — and only the third since the first quarter — after mandating banks on Monday. The issuer will be joined by a triple tranche trade from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

A slew of deals hit screens in sterling this week, allowing SSA borrowers from three continents to pick up a combined £1.175bn ($1.55bn) in funding — including one borrower’s largest-ever deal in the currency.

A pair of seasoned green bond issuers brought deals in the format this week — but each opted to print in a currency in which it had not sold green bonds before.

German healthcare company Fresenius this week opted to issue a €500m no-grow seven year trade following a roadshow, a choice which rewarded it with an order book that was more than five times subscribed.

Barclays has returned to the Swiss franc bond market after an eight year absence.

Retailer J Sainsbury and metals tycoon Anil Agarwal kept sterling denominated M&A running at full pace this week, after a quarter with the biggest volume of loans in the currency in five years.

UK retailer J Sainsbury’s has signed a £3.5bn loan package to back its acquisition of Walmart-owned Asda, with the company raising more debt than the cash component of the deal despite analysts raising concerns about the borrower’s recent debt levels.