Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Alfa Bank has mandated three banks for a senior dollar bond — only the second Russian financial institution bond this year — as the CEEMEA bond markets held stable after the terrorist attacks in Paris over the weekend.

Ukraine’s Privatbank has received approval from the High Court of England and Wales for a restructuring deal approved by holders of its subordinated Eurobonds.

In this round-up, Moscow Exchange sees fall in both spot and swap trading, South Korea deposits drop for sixth consecutive month, and the Swiss franc is now directly convertible with the onshore RMB. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s top stories this week.

Bank of Georgia completed the IPO of its healthcare subsidiary on Monday, as it successfully priced the deal, although at a price much below what it had hoped for.

Russian miners Polymetal and Russian Copper Company (RCC) have dug up two commodity-backed loans which are likely the tail-end of a meagre performance from the Russian loan market this year.

The Romanian mortgage market is set for growth after local authorities amended its previously unusable covered bond law to bring it into line with the best standards in western Europe.

Goldman Sachs this week announced the closure of its dedicated BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China and India) fund after nearly 10 years. The move signalled the end of the BRIC era, as this year saw recessions plague Russia and Brazil while growth in China stalled.

Russian Copper Company has signed a $200m four year pre-export finance facility with European and Russian banks.

International syndicated lending to Russia has been in the deep freeze for the last 12 months, with only a handful of safe, commodity-backed loans arranged. The European Council will review its sanctions on Russia in a few weeks, but don’t expect the market to thaw.

Russian gold and silver miner Polymetal has signed what is likely to be one of the final Russian loans of the year, in a $350m four year deal with five banks.

Bank of Georgia completed the initial public offering of its healthcare subsidiary on Monday, as it successfully priced the deal, although at a price much below what it had hoped for.

A spate of mandates hit CEEMEA this week, with Macedonia and Cameroon joining two Middle East banks in announcing new deals.