Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

This year’s second Turkish bank refinancing wave has started and borrowers are pushing hard for tighter pricing. Akbank is expected to set the benchmark for its peers by securing tighter margins on its upcoming loan refi.

Ukrainian grain and sunflower producer Kernel is set to amend and extend an existing syndicated loan, according to bankers familiar with the deal. The transaction marks one of the few intermittent spots of activity in the Ukrainian loan market.

The price of Ukraine’s GDP warrants climbed rapidly this week on news of a “definite plan” to minimise the instruments’ impact on the country’s debt burden.

Russian pipe manufacturer Chelyabinsk Pipe Plant has become the second metals company from the country to announce plans for a roadshow this week, joining Severstal. The Chelpipe deal — a $300m Reg S/144A five year senior unsecured note — will be the company's debut in the Eurobond market.

Two CEEMEA issuers — one of which is a Russian corporate — have mandated for bonds and are heading off on roadshows, ending a barren summer for the asset class.

Russian companies are showing more interest in euro-denominated loans, as funding in the currency becomes cheaper and as US sanctions complicate borrowers’ access to dollars. Siberian Anthracite is expected to close a loan refinancing with a new euro tranche this week, and at least two Russian borrowers are in preliminary discussions with international lenders.

Standard & Poor's has affirmed Romania's investment grade rating, at BBB- with a stable outlook. The central European sovereign escaped a downgrade to junk status, but bond auctions this week will determine appetite for the credit.

Standard & Poor’s is due to opine on Romania’s creditworthiness after markets close on Friday, though analysts think the sovereign will be strong enough to hold on to its investment grade rating despite major political upheaval.

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

Poland’s prefunding for 2020 may even be higher as a proportion of total funding than the 34% it reached for 2019, said Robert Zima, head of the debt management office (DMO) in Warsaw, thanks to an expected lower budget deficit which means that the country’s total borrowing requirements are set to fall.

Belarusian food retailer Eurotorg has hit the Russian rouble-denominated debt capital markets for the second time this year, raising a Rb3.5bn ($52m) loan.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Deutsche Bank of hiring relatives of executives of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the Asia Pacific and Russia, in order to win business from those entities.