Barclays

Air Liquide and Saipem loans show that bankers and borrowers are not yet slowing down as they seek to tie up remaining bumper deals they launched in a busy fourth quarter.

Latvia on Tuesday sold €550m 0.5% December 2020s from a book of €1.6bn, in conjunction with a buyback of its old dollar debt, switching out some of its traditional EM investor base for new rates buyers.

Westpac was set to print its second foreign currency deal in as many days on Tuesday, but some bankers said the borrower ran into difficulties in euros.

For the third part of our annual awards, we cover Best Local Currency Bond, Best Securitization, Best High Yield Bond, Best Investment Grade Corporate Bond, Best Financial Bond, Best Sovereign Bond, Best Local Currency Bond House and Best G3 Bond House.

American Honda Finance has visited the sterling bond market for a £250m seven year deal, its inaugural offering in the currency.

Entertainment One, the FTSE 250 UK media company, priced £285m of senior secured notes at the tight end of price talk on Friday (December 4), after finishing a five day roadshow.

Russian steel company Evraz is roadshowing a Reg S senior unsecured dollar bond through six active bookrunners and two passive, in tandem with a tender offer.

Bond bankers say that Mexican government-owned oil company Pemex will have to overcome fears that European investors have over emerging market and oil related names as it looks at issuing its second sterling bond.

The French government sold €753.5m of shares in Safran, the French aerospace and defence group, on Monday night, in a block trade that was 1.6 times covered. But investors hoping to benefit from a favourable European Central Bank decision on Thursday were disappointed.

Europe's high yield market has made a remarkable comeback in the past fortnight, crowned this week when Ball Corp, the US can maker, priced a €2bn-equivalent bond, highlighting the bullishness of euro markets inflated by QE, writes Victor Jimenez.

FIG bankers rejoiced this week as two markets that have been much maligned this year — insurance capital and sterling senior — showed enduring appeal just in time for a year end funding grab.

Austrian oil and gas company OMV emerged on Monday with a dual tranche hybrid bond that had been promised since August, but a broader revival for the product may have to wait until next year.