BNP Paribas

Compared with last year, employees at BNP Paribas and Société Générale are more disapproving of their chief executives and less optimistic on the outlook for their firms over the next six months, according to analysis carried out by UBS.

Three new investment grade corporate bonds appeared in Europe on Friday, a slower pace than the frenetic one of Tuesday and Wednesday, but still adding €1.6bn to the already huge total of €15.5bn in the middle three days of this week.

Europe’s corporate bond market has made a remarkably strong start to the autumn issuing season, with €14bn of euro and sterling issuance in the first two open days for issuance (Tuesday and Wednesday) and another €1.5bn on Thursday.

After two huge days of corporate bond issuance, Thursday was much quieter, with issues only from Vier Gas Transport and SBB Norden — not because the market was worse, but just because most of the issuers that wanted to come this week had crowded into the first two days.

The financial institutions bond market reopened following the summer break this week, with many issuers rushing to frontload supply before the European Central Bank’s meeting in September. But the market quickly ran into resistance from investors, as they pushed back against the glut of deals.

Lenders unconcerned as recession portents mount — Booking Holdings gets global group for revolver — Pemberton raises €3.2bn more for Europe’s mid-market — Eurotorg re-enters rouble debt market

The hail of issuance in European corporate bonds continued at full pelt on Wednesday as Orange and National Grid joined the fray with multi-tranche deals. Investors and issuers seem equally eager to do business.

Finnish nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) got a warm reception from the investors on Wednesday, when it sold €550m of senior unsecured notes after a 20bp tightening from initial price thoughts.

BBVA was marketing an additional tier one bond on Wednesday, making use of the favourable conditions that other issuers have found for similar instruments in the dollar market, while BNP Paribas, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bawag kept euro investors busy.

BNP Paribas has shut down its offshore banking unit in the Philippines, according to the country’s central bank.

Freeport Indonesia, a mining company that was acquired by Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) last year, is in talks with 10 banks for a $3bn term loan for its capital expenditure.

US online booking company Booking Holdings has signed a $2bn revolving credit facility, with a slew of domestic and global banks joining the trade.