Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Yapi Kredi has privately placed Turkish mortgage backed covered bonds to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to promote energy saving improvements in the financial sector.

Slovenia printed €1.25bn by way of a triple tranche euro bond tap on Wednesday from a book of €4bn, paying small new issue premiums. Marjan Divjak, director general in Slovenia’s Ministry of Finance, said that the country is “more or less done” in the international bond markets for the year.

Books for the Republic of Slovenia’s triple tranche euro bond tap were in excess of €3.6bn by lunchtime on Wednesday, with final spreads having been set for each clip. The deal is part of a liability management exercise that swaps out short dated dollar debt for longer euro denominated paper.

Gazprom made its sixth appearance in the Swiss franc bond market on Wednesday, but for only the first time as an investment grade credit after S&P upgraded its rating. Institutional investors, which only buy bonds that are eligible for the Swiss Bond Index, piled into the transaction, pushing pricing down and the size up.

Emerging market bonds have been buoyed by several positives in key markets this week including a cabinet reshuffle in South Africa that has seen the return of respected former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, and the upgrade of Russia to investment grade by S&P.

Ukraine’s DTEK is meeting fixed income investors this week to update investors. The borrower is in the process of restructuring some outstanding bank loans.

The State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine printed its local currency bond on Tuesday, but needed to pay an eye-watering 16.5% coupon to do so.

State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine has opened books on a hryvnia Eurobond with an eye-catching 16% area yield.

Orders reached €1.6bn for Západoslovenská energetika (ZSE)’s five year note on Monday, marking a subscription rate of five times for Slovakia’s largest distribution operator.

Kernel, the Ukrainian grain and sunflower producer, has signed a $100m pre-export finance facility with a syndicate of European banks.

Russia’s return to investment grade status could unlock $2bn-$3bn of passive inflows, according to analysis by Goldman Sachs — though this is expected to result in a gradual grind, rather than a sudden snap tighter in spreads. Bankers said that credit committees may also consider lending to Russia again.

The Single Resolution Board has decided that Latvia’s ABLV Bank should be wound up under national insolvency proceedings, suggesting that small and medium sized banks remain outside the scope of resolution action.