Citi

Citigroup’s first green bond issue has been a long time in coming, but the issuer was elated with the result of the €1bn deal on Wednesday, which was sold into a bond market where investors had slammed the risk pedal to the metal.

Sterling issuance from non-UK SSAs kept up its record start to the year this week, as UK bank treasuries are searching for safe places to put sterling, afraid the country will leave the EU without an exit deal.

It was another sparkling week in dollars for public sector borrowers, with Asian Development Bank the pick of the bunch as it brought the tightest deal of the year so far versus Libor and US Treasuries. More supply is expected for next week, although some SSA bankers feel the market could do with a “breather”.

The socially responsible investment market in SSAs is picking up pace in 2019, with a supranational bringing a deal in a debut format and other issuers preparing inaugural trades.

Wider euro spreads versus swaps and Bunds had already led to some superstrong trades in the currency this year, but Spain outdid them all this week with the largest ever book for a public sector euro benchmark. Every other euro deal also attracted heavy oversubscription with minimal concession, paving the way for expected supply next week from a “large German agency in the short end” and a “central European sovereign in 10 years”, according to one head of SSA syndicate.

French hotel company Accor launched new hybrid and senior bond issues on Thursday after announcing the deals at the end of last week. The new deals finance tender offers for some of the company’s existing hybrid and senior notes.

High grade corporates are champing at the bit to access the dollar market as credit spreads continue to rally and investors continue to put money to work.

IBM returned to the euro corporate bond market for the first time since 2017 on Thursday, to sell its largest ever deal in the euro market and to push into a maturity not seen from a corporate issuer so far in 2019.

World Bank on Thursday added to a record breaking start to the year for public sector sterling issuance with yet another large trade. A German agency is set to bring another deal this Friday in a market that shows no signs of slowing down.

The Republic of Turkey has returned for a bond in euros after the $2bn note it sold earlier this month rocketed in value.

Ping An Real Estate seeks $300m — ICTSI tests appetite for €260m — Huifeng Petrochemical debuts with $200m

The public sector dollar market on Wednesday showed that it had more than enough depth to cope with a pair of issuers bringing deals in the same maturity with just a basis point of difference in initial price thoughts, as both trades came in size and at tightened pricing. Another agency is set to dip into the demand on Thursday.