Belgium

Rating: Aa2

Socially responsible investment deals were the focus of attention in the primary SSA market this week, as the World Bank and the Flemish Community of Belgium sold well-received green and sustainability bonds, respectively. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and Eurofima have added to the public sector SRI pipeline, which is showing no signs of slowing down as the year end approaches.

The Flemish Community of Belgium was twice covered for its debut sustainability bond on Monday, following the completion of a pan-European roadshow last week. Meanwhile, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten has added to the SRI pipeline after mandating banks for its second sustainability trade of the year.

Representatives from European Union member states are debating the make-up of a proposed body to supervise clearing houses (CCPs), according to leaked documents seen by GlobalCapital.

EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday moved to reassure derivatives markets that the Commission would enact measures to avoid market disruption to clearing in a hard Brexit scenario.

The European Central Bank is pushing for greater powers over EU-based derivatives clearing houses, according to a leaked ECB presentation obtained by GlobalCapital. The move follows a successful effort by the ECB to gain powers over foreign clearing houses.

Belgium’s Ravago has amended and restated €1.65bn equivalent of syndicated loans, with an oversubscribed order book allowing the industrial materials company to increase the size of the deal.

European Commission officials have played down concerns expressed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over a controversial EC proposal that seeks to revise European oversight of foreign clearing houses. The comments garnered a curt response from a senior CFTC official.

The hefty chunk of SRI bond supply from the public sector in the second half of the year shows no signs of slowing down, with plenty in the pipeline — including from a debut issuer.

The Flemish Community of Belgium will meet investors in November to showcase its new sustainability bond framework, with a trade likely to follow.

Shurgard Self Storage, a European operator of self-storage facilities, has revised the price range for its €575m IPO on Euronext Brussels and is covered throughout the new range, despite a difficult market where several deals have been pulled and others have traded down in the aftermarket.

The Brussels IPO of Shurgard Self Storage, the largest operator of self-storage facilities in Europe, is covered, less than three working days into the bookbuild.