Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Türkiye İş Bankası signed a $1.1bn dual currency syndicated loan on Monday with 33 banks at a spread 10bp lower than its first loan this year in May, in line with its peers.

Russia tapped its dollar denominated June 2027 and 2047 bonds on Wednesday, with a lead saying that many names new to the sovereign had bought into the debt reopening.

The strength of the demand for equity block trades in Europe was highlighted once again on Wednesday evening by Telenor when it covered an effective cleanup trade in Veon, the New York-listed Russian telecoms company formerly known as VimpleCom, in half an hour.

Vseobecna uverova banka and Stadtsparkasse München have both been keeping the sub-benchmark covered bond market busy with deals this week.

Slovenia tapped two euro bonds for €700m this week to exchange investors out of some of its dollar debt, in a move that bankers said shows the issuer is one of Europe’s most astute borrowers.

Ukraine made a barnstorming return to the international bond market this week and extended its curve to 15 years, though the new deal has slipped below reoffer in the secondary market.

Turkish banks are continuing to attract international lenders to their loan financings. Several deals this year have had dozens of arrangers.

PKO Bank Hipoteczny extended its covered bond curve this week with a deal that was more widely distributed and attracted more demand than any of its previous deals.

Slovenia has set final terms on a €700m combined tap of its 2027 and 2040 notes, with leads expecting the trade to have wrapped up by early afternoon on Wednesday.

Another elusive name was traded in the equity blocks market on Tuesday night, when Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Russia’s national carrier, came to market to sell 53.7m treasury shares worth Rb9.8bn ($169m).

Corporate issuer debuts and long awaited sovereign market returns have given emerging market investors an array of trades to look at this week, surprising some who thought they were in for little more than watching the US Federal Open Markets Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Trade between Russia and China has slowed over the last few years, hurt by a depreciating renminbi and domestic economic challenges in both countries. But the trend has now largely reversed — and dealmaking between the two countries is booming.