CEE Bonds

Russian Standard Bank is making a second attempt to secure investor support for its capital update after failing to generate enough interest first time round. RSB re-launched the consent solicitation for its 10.75% 2018s on January 19.

The Republic of Serbia plans to issue its debut euro-denominated international bond this year, head of the Serbian Debt Management Agency said at a conference on Tuesday.

The Polish sovereign will prioritise dollar bond issuance when it finally taps the market this year, Ministry of Finance officials told GlobalCapital Emerging Markets.

Turkey’s central bank has had to fight hard to win respect as an institution independent of political pressure. With the country on firmer economic footing the central bank took its chance to cut rates — which will have delighted Turkey’s president. But the bank’s still shaky credibility and Turkey’s vulnerability to capital market vagary means there is more at stake.

Philipp Heim and Christoph Ilgner have left debt capital markets positions at Erste Bank and moved to other firms.

Azeri bankers are hoping that the country will have new Islamic finance legislation in place as early as the first quarter of this year. The new law would pave the way for International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) to launch a planned sukuk, which is likely to be backed by the bank's ijara portfolio, an IBA official told IFIS.

Ukrainian corporate restructuring has resumed with Ferrexpo, a Ukrainian iron ore pellet exporter, which is looking to exchange its $500m notes due 2016. Analysts expect this to be the first of several such offers this year as political and economic uncertainty in the region continues.

A €5.5bn order book helped the Slovak Republic price its new 12 year euro bond in a record 2.5 hours on Tuesday morning. Strong credit fundamentals, which led to a rally across Slovakia’s curve, have enabled the borrower to price at its lowest ever yield for a long dated euro bond.

Encouraged by the strong response to Turkey’s $1.5bn tap last week, a trio of the country's banks picked up the bond market baton this week — Akbank priced a $500m five year Eurobond while Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi (Vakifbank) and Sekerbank announced investor meetings.

Banks have two weeks to decide whether to pitch for a $1bn bond for Belarus, having spurned the eastern European country’s last attempt to access investors in 2012, writes Francesca Young.

Ukraine needs to restructure its hard currency sovereign debt, and it needs to do it now.

Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi (Vakif Bank) has picked bookrunners for a long-awaited Basel III tier two transaction — the first ever from a Turkish bank.