Citi

DirectBooks, which plans to bring a new issuance platform for bond markets, has not ruled out the possibility of a partnership with other providers.

With SSA issuers' programmes rising to accommodate their responses to the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of deals transacted in niche currencies is closing in on a record high. With offshore interest in local currency deals healthy, however, many major banks are missing out on a busy and increasingly active market.

Emerging market investors are anticipating a wave of corporate and FIG issuance from across the CEEMEA region, which they say will be welcomed with open arms. Russian petrochemical company Sibur is the latest such borrower looking to being a new bond, hosting investor calls on Monday.

Agence Française de Développement hit the market twice this week, taking advantage of the absence of competing supply to pick up cash in euros and dollars. Thibaut Makarovsky, head of funding and market operations at the agency, discussed the deals with GlobalCapital.

Citi has created a cross-border and public sector solutions (XPS) team, which will be headed by Valentina Antill globally, with Abhishek Kapur taking charge of Asia Pacific.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sold the first Algerian dinar-linked bond from a development finance institution last week. With local market liquidity drying up because of the collapse in the price of oil, further demand for dinar assets could depend on how well the nation’s economy diversifies away from the industry.

Just one week after selling $1.25bn of bonds, Belarus’s yield curve has widened as protests hit the country.

European banks jumped into the US dollar market this week, with some issuers clocking up huge savings in the currency versus what their home markets could offer.

Bagshaw heads to HSBC, Deutsche replaces him — Citi's Kemp retires — Karolev moves to JP Morgan

The Covid-19 outbreak has spurred at least one change for the better. Five banks have established dedicated ESG teams since the start of the pandemic to meet demand from clients committed to being more conscientious, writes David Rothnie.

Arab Petroleum Investment Corp (Apicorp) repriced its curve on Wednesday, printing a five year new issue 20bp inside where its outstanding 2023 notes had been trading.

Royal Bank of Scotland and ING were set on Wednesday to add to a recent run of dollar bond issuance from European banks, with some issuers having clocked up huge savings in the currency versus what their home markets can offer.