BNP Paribas

Commerzbank, Caisse Francaise de Financement Local (Caffil) and Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) invigorated the long end of the covered bond market this week with 10 year deals, a duration which had not been seen for over four months.

UniCredit Bank Austria (Baca) returned to the covered bond market on Tuesday to issue the first Austrian Pfandbrief since the country’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) announced a debt moratorium on bonds issued by Heta Asset Resolution AG (HAR).

Tractel is preparing to join a relatively quiet early September leveraged loan market with the launch of a €235m loan package next week.

French hotel group Accor showed that demand is strong for even weaker investment grade credits on Thursday, drawing a rush of orders for a new eight year benchmark.

Poland reopened the CEEMEA bond market this week after investors in search of safe havens pushed central Eastern European sovereign spreads tighter. Uncertainty over the timing of a US rate hike has left buyers wary of more typical EM names and left CEE sovereigns among the select few that could avoid paying heightened premiums.

The pay gap between men and women working in the front office of investment banks is driven more by bonuses paid than the basic rate of pay, according to Emolument data. But some banks say that they are making strides in their efforts to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions.

American Honda, the American subsidiary of the Japanese auto company, made its first euro appearance in two years on Thursday, becoming the second auto company to tap the euro market for fixed and floating paper this week.

Two French borrowers took advantage of a resurgent corporate bond market on Wednesday, with electrical components manufacturer Schneider Electric and real estate company Icade selling euro debt.

UK energy company SSE opened up the week’s issuance for corporate bonds on Tuesday. While the issuer faced less than ideal market conditions its success presaged a rush of issuance later in the week.

BNP Paribas has walked away from a African sovereign bond mandate because of compliance issues. The bond, for Angola, is expected to have a size of at least $1bn.

Bankers are pointing to sovereigns from central Eastern Europe as the best hope for CEEMEA supply although much of the region is bound by the uncertainty of when the US will start to raise rates.

BNP Paribas has been forced to return another bond mandate in the emerging markets because of compliance issues.