BNP Paribas

NRW.Bank’s inaugural social bond sparked a flurry of 15 year trades this week as a flattening French curve and the positive yields on offer helped spur on demand, with three issuers opting to follow the German agency’s successful trip to the maturity on Wednesday.

Belgium returned to the MTN market in euros on Tuesday with a 60 year note — its first private placement in the currency for over 18 months.

Poland has become the first CEEMEA country outside the eurozone to sell a bond with a negative yield since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks backing Cinven, KKR and Providence’s take-private of MasMovil have boosted the size of the euro loan tranche in the market this week by €500m, cutting down the planned bond that will fund the remainder of the deal, the first major LBO announced in Europe since the coronavirus crisis.

Syndicate bankers are scrambling to make sense of the covered bond market, where sentiment has been changeable in recent weeks. Amid volatility and small issuance windows, sustainable bonds have proven a safe strategy to ensure successful deals.

The 15 year tenor is the flavour of the week in the SSA market. Three issuers have mandated for deals at the tenor so far, following on from NRW.Bank’s successful trip to the maturity on Tuesday.

Ukraine was set to issue a highly anticipated bond on Wednesday, having started pricing with what some experts called "impressive" initial price thoughts. The deal follows one from Poland, which secured three year money at a negative yield in euros on Tuesday.

Europe’s investment grade corporate bond market acquired a more cheerful tone on Tuesday, with new issues well oversubscribed, despite quickly shifting sentiment.

NRW.Bank signalled to the market that there is demand at 15 years with its inaugural social bond on Tuesday. Following the deal two other European issuers, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and Portugal, mandated for deals of their own in the tenor.

Weir Group, the UK engineering company, has signed bank lines totalling $1.19bn, but amid coronavirus-related market volatility, banks required a higher margin than on the deal being refinanced.

NN Bank used a quiet market this week to launch the first deal from its new soft bullet covered bond programme. The inaugural deal carried an ‘attractive’ spread and was more than three times subscribed at final terms.

Mercialys, the BBB rated French shopping centre owner, launched a sub-benchmark bond with an eye-catching yield on Tuesday, wider than a simultaneous deal by Fiat Chrysler, which is crossover-rated. Syndicate bankers said trying to be precise about pricing and sentiment this week was more difficult than it had been for months.