Barclays

European financials have found every reason to get into the dollar market early in 2017, leading to a fireworks display of total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) senior deals this week. Though market conditions could not have been better to receive the banks, many will have wanted to squirrel away quantities of funding and capital for what could be another troublesome year in the capital markets.

Four covered bonds issuers raised almost €6bn between them at the long end of the curve this week, suggesting borrowers are prioritising tougher, longer duration deals. And while conditions permit some are issuing in the largest size possible.

Municipality Finance raised €1bn on Thursday with a short 10 year bond that was, according to head of funding Joakim Holmström, the agency's top priority for the quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank tapped the sterling covered bond market this week at cheaper levels than they could have achieved in euros and dollars.

A pair of public sector borrowers switched up their approaches in dollars on Thursday, with the European Investment Bank taking the rare move of revising pricing and Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale bringing a trade earlier than normal.

Autoroutes du Sud de la France, the French toll road operator, tested the investment grade euro corporate bond market’s taste for tenor on Thursday with a 10 year trade.

Searing conditions in the sterling market could lead to a record opening week of SSA issuance in the currency as a pair of issuers lined up deals for Friday — despite this only being a four day week.

A dual tranche global deal from the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday at least temporarily dashed hopes that this year could be strong for 10 year dollar benchmark issuance — although some bankers away from the trade felt that the problems were idiosyncratic rather than reflective of demand.

KfW and Ireland brought euro deals on Wednesday at the very top end of size expectations, alleviating a little of the pressure on what is set to be an extremely busy year in the currency. The trades came the same day as Municipality Finance mandated for a euro benchmark and a request for proposals came from the European Financial Stability Facility.

The European Investment Bank set a marker on Wednesday that sterling issuance could be just as hot this month as it was in January last year — as another pair of issuers hoped to add further evidence of that this week.

Barclays pulled in $1.5bn for a 30 year senior bond as part of a four-tranche offering worth $5bn, as five Yankee FIG borrowers powered through the first global window of 2017.

Israel became the first emerging market sovereign to put down a marker in the bond market this year with the announcement of a European roadshow next week.