BNP Paribas

Rabobank has become the first Dutch bank to enter the credit markets in over two months, after launching a non-preferred senior bond on Wednesday. The issuer tacked on a call option, which bankers say are cheap to deliver in the market at the moment.

The European Investment Bank achieved its biggest ever order book in euros on Tuesday, as it sold its first seven year benchmark of the year.

Marks & Spencer, the UK retailer, has negotiated with its lenders to relax the covenant testing on its £1.1bn revolving credit facility, as it tries to mitigate the effects of a pandemic that has sent its ratings crashing into junk territory.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa paid a 'generous' 7bp of new issue premium for a preferred senior bond on Tuesday, taking advantage of a quiet market to attract attention from investors.

Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil) has launched the first negative yielding covered bond since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in Europe, after linking the use of proceeds from the deal to fighting against the effects of the pandemic.

Korea East-West Power Co (EWP) offered no new issue concession for its $500m bond on Monday, but still drew orders of close to $4bn. Its notes only tightened further in the secondary market, showing investors’ support for quality borrowers.

After releasing first quarter results that one credit analyst said showed “limited to no impact” from the coronavirus pandemic, Mexican payroll lender Crédito Real said on Monday that it had established a $1.5bn MTN programme that would give it “access to a wide array of debt securities in various international markets, currencies and maturities”.

Pernod Ricard, the French drinks company, was rewarded for waiting on Monday when it launched taps of existing bonds more than 50bp inside where it had originally priced the notes just weeks ago, showing just what a tonic the European Central Bank's asset purchasing has been for the corporate bond market during the coronavirus pandemic.

US companies Amphenol Technologies and Air Products and Chemicals have mandated banks for euro bond issues, as bankers expect Reverse Yankee issuance to rise after a spell of record-breaking volume in the dollar market.

Spreads in the financial institutions bond market have sprung back to more ‘normal’ levels lately, but issuers may have to wait a little while longer before capitalising on the improvement in conditions, given that many of them are side-lined by earnings blackouts.

Property management company Central China New Life carried out accelerated pre-marketing for its Hong Kong IPO this week, said a source close to the deal.

The coronavirus pandemic is shaking up the competitive landscape in capital markets, as some firms find it harder to commit to deals — but there are winners, too, and one of the most notable cases is BNP Paribas’s presence in the syndicated loan market.