BNP Paribas

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the corporate, high yield, public sector, financial institution and emerging market bond markets. Below are the High Yield Deals of the Year 2015.

After an eventful year for European corporate bonds, HSBC has ousted BNP Paribas as top bookrunner for European issuers, though BNPP stays top for all corporate issues in euros.

Kathrein, the German communications technology manufacturer, has signed a €350m revolving credit facility for refinancing purposes.

Solvay, the Belgian chemical company, achieved a 95% take-up for its €1.5bn rights issue, which concluded last week, to finance its $5.5bn takeover of Cytec Industries – one of 2015’s most prominent M&A financings in the European equity capital market.

Another foreign issuer has joined the German Schuldschein market, as Sweden's Saab signs its first ever deal. It was arranged by two non-German banks.

Extraordinarily low volumes of new bonds this year meant that 2015 rivalled the financial crisis of 2008-2009 for the pace of high profile CEEMEA staffing changes on syndicate and DCM. Where are they all now?

Finnish pulp and paper maker Stora Enso has tightened margins again on its €700m revolving credit facility, this time by 20bp, after having already reduced margins on the deal by 35bp two years ago.

Italian banks have come through a challenging year as pressures — from regulators, markets and the economy — waxed and waned. Issuers and investors have had to navigate the looming introduction of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, Total Loss Absorbing Capacity and Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities, which have changed the dynamics between senior unsecured paper, covered bonds and capital issuance. The Italian market also felt one of the strongest impacts in the eurozone from the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme, which provided cheap liquidity and tightened issuance spreads, but in some cases appeared to drive investors away and into higher-yielding asset classes. Meanwhile, an economy clawing its way back to health continued to impose a heavy burden of non-performing loans, and legislative reforms left smaller players in the sector looking for merger partners. In this roundtable, held in early December, leading funding officials and bankers gathered to discuss these issues and more.

Persistent volatility has left the vast majority of bank capital trades trading wider in 2015, with poor periphery performers joined by some notable big hitters at the bottom of the pile.

Dexter Axle, the US car axle maker, looks set to allocate its leveraged loan package by Friday midday, after having reduced the size of the deal.

Fosun Group has hit the limelight following the disappearance and re-appearance of its co-founder chairman Guo Guangchang, who is understood to be assisting Chinese authorities with an investigation. The news has delayed an ongoing syndicated loan for an affiliated company and has prompted bankers to say they will take a more cautious approach towards privately owned Chinese borrowers. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Wind turbine company Nordex signed €1.4bn in loans on Tuesday. The five bookrunners flexed to accommodate a planned acquisition, in what was intended to be a plain refinancing.