Barclays

The sterling market enjoyed a second record breaking day in a row on Wednesday as FMS Wertmanagement printed its largest ever deal in the currency — and sterling investors were impatient for an upcoming World Bank deal.

The US is top of every European banking chief executive’s to-do list for 2016, as they race to comply with new regulations that will define the future of their international ambitions. Consolidation beckons, writes David Rothnie.

After the second half of last year proved a real headache for primary issuance, participants in the European IPO market are readying themselves to brave markets that could be just as choppy in the first half of 2016. As Olivier Holmey reports, some of 2015’s innovations are likely to become widespread.

Sharjah has become the first CEEMEA issuer to brave the bond markets this year, mandating six banks for a Reg S-only dollar sukuk roadshow and defying sceptics who said earlier this week that Middle East issuance would be postponed as geopolitical tensions in the region escalated.

Barclays has printed one of the largest dollar senior trades from a European bank in recent memory, as it and Santander UK took home $5bn of holding company debt between them on Tuesday.

UK banks have wasted no time in plundering a deep dollar market for holding company senior debt this week, while euro investors have been restricted to a variety show of covered bonds.

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia is set to make its first outing to the international bond market having mandated three banks to arrange a series of fixed income meetings.

Barclays is preparing to let go investment banking staff in Asia as the British lender continues to wind down its presence in non-core markets.

Hong Kong real estate giant Swire Properties and the Korea Development Bank have launched the first investment grade bonds from Asia for 2016, opening books for dollar-denominated transactions on January 6.

Last year’s difficult dollar conditions looked firmly in the past on Tuesday as a pair of issuers tapped different parts of the curve for big deals — and other issuers readied themselves for trades.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten started January with a bang, roaring out of the blocks with an oversubscribed book on the year’s first euro deal, and printing its largest ever 10 year benchmark in the currency.

The European Investment Bank blew the doors off the sterling market with a record breaking deal on Tuesday, and two other issuers quickly followed.