BNP Paribas

The high grade corporate bond market burst into life on Monday, with mandates for a diverse range of trades from hybrids to sustainability-linked bonds hitting screens to take advantage of the unexpectedly positive November issuance window.

Renault, the French car maker, issued on Monday its first bond since taking a €5bn state-backed loan. Investors piled into the deal.

Erste Group Bank launched its second additional tier one (AT1) of the year on Monday, taking advantage of a surge in risk appetite in the run up to the Christmas break.

KfW finished off this year’s funding programme with a €2bn green bond tap on Thursday, bringing the outstanding to €6bn and making it the largest ever non-sovereign green bond line.

Société de Financement Local (SFIL) was over 5-1/2 times covered as it brought its long-awaited debut green bond to the market on Friday, allowing it to price well inside fair value.

Inmobiliaria Colonial, the Spanish office real estate company, has signed a €1bn sustainability-linked loan, wrapping up a €2bn fundraising spree from the group.

NatWest Group and Société Générale reopened the additional tier one (AT1) market to some fanfare this week, as investors showed they were hungry for yield by snapping up the deals.

Allianz drew attention to an overlooked corner of the insurance bond market this week, when it became the first household name to sell a restricted tier one (RT1) deal. The arrangers think the roaring success of the transaction will help the asset class to attract a much more mainstream following.

A trio of rare issuers found a window for issuance in the FIG bond market on Thursday, with Nykredit and Hamburg Commercial Bank accessing a tightening senior non-preferred market, while Íslandsbanki launched Iceland's first ever sustainable bond

Adidas, the German sportswear company, has signed a €1.5bn loan to replace an emergency facility from KfW signed during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. It has raised €3bn of debt since taking the crisis loan.

The clamour for green bonds was on display in the corporate market on Thursday when UPM-Kymmene, the Finnish pulp and paper company, had its debut green issue more than six times oversubscribed, while a conventional bond for Swedish truck maker Scania found more modest demand.

French agency Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations finished its 2020 syndicated funding programme with a visit to the Swiss market this week, printing an extremely tight deal through the high quality domestic covered bond curve.