BBVA

Conditions in the primary FIG bond market have improved of late, tempting European issuers to bring subordinated trades. Rabobank made an appearance this week, adding to a flurry of trades in the format.

BBVA became the first financial institution to issue green debt in additional tier one (AT1) format on Tuesday, launching a bond with a 6% coupon. The Spanish lender left no premium on the table, according to some market participants.

Takeda Pharmaceutical was the standout issuer as US high grade corporate bond issuance ground to a halt this week, ahead of the July 4 holiday.

CaixaBank attracted plenty of demand for its first Covid-19 bond on Wednesday, printing a €1bn deal at a spread that was through the fair value implied by its outstanding securities.

European banks jumped into the US dollar market this week, with some issuers clocking up huge savings in the currency versus what their home markets could offer.

Bagshaw heads to HSBC, Deutsche replaces him — Citi's Kemp retires — Karolev moves to JP Morgan

Energie Baden-Württemberg, the German electricity company, has signed a new €1.5bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, marking the end of a busy week for the company in raising environmentally conscious debt.

Royal Bank of Scotland and ING were set on Wednesday to add to a recent run of dollar bond issuance from European banks, with some issuers having clocked up huge savings in the currency versus what their home markets can offer.

Agence Française de Développement printed a €1bn tap on Tuesday, while Fondo de Amortisacion del Deficit Electrico (FADE) landed €1.2bn at five years.

BBVA is the latest large European bank to have suffered a ratings downgrade during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Fitch having moved the issuer’s debt ratings down by a notch blaming a weaker operating environment in Mexico and Spain.

Gabriela Martínez de Aragón has joined CaixaBank as country manager for the UK.

China Huadian Corp priced a $500m bond on Monday, riding on the improvement in market sentiment to reopen the perpetual market for state-owned enterprises.