Barclays

Rating: Aa1/AA+

Covered bond borrowers in the UK, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands met with strong receptions for their transactions this week, which collectively raised nearly €6bn.

The Joint Laender reached its 50th deal two months after it was forced to postpone a planned transaction, printing a €1.5bn seven year benchmark that proceeded smoothly this time round.

European and US banks have positioned themselves at the forefront of the Chinese M&A boom, but beware the ambitions of domestic players, warns David Rothnie

Delta Lloyd will announce on Thursday evening or Friday morning the take-up for its controversial rights issue, which was cut in size from €1bn to €650m after public protests from some investors. The exercise period ended at 2pm CET on Thursday.

Ahli Bank Qatar printed its $500m five year bond on Wednesday from a $1.2bn book, demonstrating that there is investor demand for Middle East bank debt at the right price.

Rather than cherry picking its favourite banks for its $10bn sovereign loan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will “pull together a handful of banks” to get the deal done, according to a banker in discussions with the sovereign.

The short end of the dollar curve is enjoying a purple patch, with public sector borrowers drawing big books and pricing with much lower new issue premiums than earlier in the year.

Portugal breathed some liquidity into a pair of outstanding bonds on Wednesday with its first syndication since January, achieving much lower premiums than its last syndication, according to bankers.

The European Union proved that for the right issuers there is considerable demand at the 15 year point of the curve, with the Joint Länder planning a return to the market with a seven year benchmark for the first time since a mooted deal in February stalled.

The European Investment Bank added the latest piece of evidence that a socially responsible label can help drive demand at tricky tenors, as it sold a Climate Awareness Bond on Wednesday that was the largest 10 year dollar bond from a supranational or agency so far this year.

Telefónica hit the European bond market on Wednesday for a €2.75bn dual tranche deal that drew hefty demand, but later widened in secondary.