BNP Paribas

Germany smashed its return to the syndicated bond market on Wednesday with its biggest ever order book and deal in the format, which was priced flat to fair value at the final spread, according to the leads.

Rolls-Royce, the UK jet engine maker, has signed a £1.5bn short term revolving credit facility, as lenders say European and US aerospace companies are having to approach fundraising in vastly different ways.

German meal kit delivery company HelloFresh has issued a €175m debut convertible bond to fund growth opportunities after reporting stellar first quarter results, as more consumers dine at home because of the restrictions imposed to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic in its key markets.

On a busy day for corporate bond issues, with prestigious competing deals including from Nestlé, Swisscom is nevertheless hogging attention with its debut green bond, which comes alongside another green debut, for power networks group Eurogrid.

Nordea Bank and Erste Group Bank were marketing preferred senior bonds on Wednesday, finding demand in the seven year part of the curve following a flurry of five year deals earlier this week.

High grade bond investors had a plethora of trades to pick from on Wednesday, as corporate bankers say May is shaping up to be a breakneck month for issuance.

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil major, printed €2bn of bonds with a single digit new issue premium on Tuesday, becoming the latest euro issuer to hit the market twice in quick succession to exploit tightening secondary spreads.

Germany has picked the banks that will run its first syndicated transaction since 2015 and its first 15 year bond. The sovereign will likely make its market return on Wednesday. The trade forms part of Germany's updated strategy for its colossal funding programme financing the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Helaba and OP Corporate Bank each took a plunge into the preferred senior bond market on Tuesday, with spreads in the asset class having outperformed other bank funding products in recent weeks.

BNP Paribas blamed European authorities’ restrictions on 2019 dividend payments for losing it €184m in its equities business, when it released its first quarter results on Tuesday. However, in debt capital markets and fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) it was a more positive picture, as the bank took advantage of a surge in debt origination and electronic trading.

A bevy of high grade corporate bonds hit screens on Tuesday, as Europe’s syndicate bankers said that “no one cares” about the German Constitutional Court verdict throwing into question the Bundesbank's ability to take part in the eurozone's quantitative easing.

Central China New Life, a property management company, has launched marketing for its Hong Kong IPO as it aims to raise up to HK$2.16bn ($278.6m). The Mainland-based firm has begun virtual meetings with investors as the threat of Covid-19 continues to prevent any hopes of physical meetings.