BNP Paribas

Carnival Cruises, the world’s largest leisure travel company, is rolling the dice on a coronavirus rescue package, launching a $1.25bn underwritten rights issue, $1.75bn convertible bond, and a $3bn dual currency high yield bond.

Portugal will be hoping to mirror the success of Belgium after the latter smashed records in the public sector bond market on Tuesday with the biggest ever order book for an SSA borrower in euros. Both Portugal and Belgium have announced an anticipated increase to their 2020 funding programmes as result of the Covid-19 crisis.

Some of the largest financial institutions in the eurozone have yet to cancel or postpone their dividend distributions for this year, despite explicit guidance from the European Central Bank urging them to restrict payouts during the coronavirus crisis.

Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, opened books for a three tranche bond issue on Tuesday, just over a week after raising €15bn from banks, on the assumption, its CFO said then, that there would be "no issuance in capital markets, such as commercial paper".

The Nordic Investment Bank on Monday became the latest public sector borrower to use the capital markets to provide emergency financing in response to the coronavirus crisis. But rather than selling a conventional or socially responsible bond, the supranational has developed a new framework specially designed to tackle the pandemic.

CPPIB Capital hit the euro market on Monday, becoming the first SSA borrower not eligible for QE to access the market since the coronavirus outbreak shuttered the market. A fellow Canadian is set to follow suit.

Belgium has picked banks for a seven year benchmark, publishing the mandate just after joining the throng of sovereigns upping their funding requirements. Norway has also raised the size of its borrowing programme.

A string of well rated companies are preparing to issue bonds in the coming days, as syndicate desks are heartened by the continued ample demand from investors. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Volkswagen Financial Services and Thermo Fisher Scientific raised a total of €7.85bn in euros today, despite a rocky market.

As the dust settles on a thunderous week in the European corporate bond market that saw enormous order books and fat new premiums squeezed to nothing in one case, investors and bankers united in joy that the market was not just open again, but bursting with vigour. Central banks and governments had saved the day, they argued. Only a few are worrying about another lurch downwards, though this is more than likely.

A trio of UK companies drew down on their revolving credit facilities this week, as firms in the country build up their cash piles despite an unprecedented financial support package from the government.

Corporate borrowers are pumping out new bonds this week and on Thursday it was the turn of some of those worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, as investors have felt emboldened enough to look further down the credit curve each day this week. Aeroports de Paris is on screens, as investors credited central bank intervention with bolstering the market.

The Republic of Slovenia navigated a much changed euro new issue market on Tuesday, executing a three year bond and tap that required unconventional pricing tactics.