Barclays

European and UK issuers have driven the US Private Placement (US PP) market to near record highs, despite concerns around the Brexit vote and US presidential elections. Now, the prospect of the end of an era of record low rates could push volumes to unprecedented levels, writes Elly Whittaker.

Autostrade per L’Italia hit the euro bond market for a long 10 year transaction on Thursday, selling to a euro investor base that is still cool on longer dated maturities.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation has established its $10bn covered bond programme, and with a top rating from both Moody’s and Fitch, it is only a matter of time before the bank issues its first covered bond.

Export-Import Bank of China hit the debt market on Wednesday, bagging €2bn (US$2.1bn) in the largest euro deal from a Chinese borrower to date. While DCM bankers say that there’s little opportunity for arbitrage, Chexim benefited by reaching new investors. Morgan Davis reports.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp has become the last of the three big Singaporean lenders to pave the way for a covered bond, announcing a $10bn programme on Wednesday.

Shares in Petroleum Geo-Services, the Norwegian oilfield surveyor, closed 10% higher on Wednesday after the company completed a Nkr1.9bn ($225m) capital increase overnight, to strengthen its balance sheet.

The momentum in the equity block trade market since the US presidential election has continued this week, with nearly $1.4bn of issuance, as vendors rush to sell assets before the loss of US distribution for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

Heineken was the first of five corporate issuers on Tuesday to wrap up its offering, in a rush of supply that took advantage of a more stable backdrop in rates markets.

The euro market for public sector borrowers repoened on Tuesday as a pair of issuers took advantage of calmer conditions since the US election on November 8 to raise nearly €2bn in total — both paying small new issue premiums.

The Financial Stability Board made seven changes to its list of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) on Monday, altering the levels of capital some large financial institutions will have to hold.

China Energy Reserve and Chemicals Group and CEFC China Energy Company managed to drum up investor interest for their respective dollar bonds on Thursday despite a choppy market backdrop.

Covered bond supply surged to its highest levels in seven months this week, as issuers scrambled to raise funding before the end of the year and costs soar even further.