CEE Bonds

The Russian central bank announced a 25bp rate hike on Friday in a move calculated to offset the effect of expected US sanctions.

It is the 10th anniversary of Lehman’s collapse and we are being inundated with retrospectives and predictions of what will cause the next crisis. Many are pointing towards emerging markets as a likely catalyst, a logical conjecture given the tightening in monetary policy that is underway in the US.

The Central Bank of Turkey delivered a larger-than-expected interest rate hike this week that was given a cautious welcome by emerging markets bond syndicate bankers hoping to see some stability in the lira. Loans bankers working on a crucial $930m loan refinancing for Akbank — seen as a litmus test of foreign lenders' appetite to roll over loans to the financial sector — were nonplussed by the move, but still expressed confidence in rolling the bulk of the funds.

The Turkish central bank, in a remarkable display of independence, has raised its weekly repo rate by 625bp, combatting its runaway inflation but making recession a more likely prospect, according to one investor.

Investors’ eyes are on the Middle East this week as a slew of borrowers bring Sukuk trades to market, but while hopes are high for successful deals, a Turkish central bank rate decision looms large in investors’ minds.

Latvia has completed its 2018 funding programme with a €350m dual tranche deal, picking up the rest of the cash it was unable to raise in May.

China has made little headway in persuading the Russian government and Russian institutions into using the renminbi, as the fate of a sovereign bond in the currency remains uncertain and trading of RMB products stalls. But market participants are not giving up just yet, with a new trading platform set to launch next year, writes Paolo Danese.

Czech company Atrium European Real Estate has hit the market with a deal first roadshowed in June, raising €300m with a seven year.

There was little in the way of emerging market bond issuance this week to set the tone for the usually busy month of September. Although mBank raised €500m of four year money, CEE-focused Atrium European Real Estate had yet to appear with a deal that had been planned for Thursday.

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Czech company Atrium European Real Estate has said it is focusing on a seven year bond. That is the long end of the maturity range that had set for the note on Wednesday. But there are no signs yet of price guidance for the deal, which has already been postponed once.

mBank, a Polish financial institution, has hit the market with what will be the first euro benchmark from a CEEMEA borrower in over a month, taking what some investors believe is a cautious approach to reopening the market.