Citi

Nigeria's Zenith Bank made its debut in the dollar bond market this week with a five year benchmark deal. The borrower could have pushed for a smaller deal at a tighter price, but preferred to secure a benchmark-sized debut that was placed overwhelmingly with international buyers, said bankers on the deal.

China Citic Bank International printed the first US dollar Basel III tier one bond from an Asian issuer on Thursday night. The bond was met with boisterous demand in the secondary market although bankers had tightened substantially on the back of a very strong orderbook.

Industrial Bank of Korea has launched a $303m global depositary receipt offering, to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with a view to pricing on the evening of April 11.

Suhyup Bank priced a new five year bond on Wednesday, with investors taking advantage of the rare Korean paper which received an orderbook that was eight times oversubscribed.

Korea Resources Corporation will be meeting with investors for a potential dollar issue as the fundraising season kicks off again for industrial names.

A quiet first quarter of FIG issuance from Latin America has drawn the region’s banks into a bond market that has delivered tightly priced bonds, said bankers. Santander Chile and Brazil’s BNDES benefited this week, with BNDES’s deal of particular encouragement to other Brazilian bank issuers, according to DCM bankers in the country.

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Guarantor: French Republic

Six bank and finance names raised $14.5bn in the space of three days, boasting bulging order books and minimal new issue concessions as investors scrambled for extra yield.

While the focus in euros this week may have been on Greece’s blowout return to the capital markets, two other issuers were able to sell successful trades of their own. The European Financial Stability Facility and Unédic breezed through seven year trades, though syndicate bankers worry that a quiet patch lies ahead with few agencies keen to issue.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development sold the only dollar benchmark of the week on Wednesday, in what could also be its only benchmark of 2014. The deal drew some criticism due to a tight spread, but is expected to perform well in the coming weeks.

Romania has picked four banks from its primary dealer list to lead manage a euro-denominated bond, according to two sources away from the deal.