Commerzbank

Commerzbank has beaten profit expectations in the first quarter, thanks to strong results in its capital markets and securities, but it remains dogged by its poor quality shipping portfolio, and restructuring efforts.

Bpifrance Financement broke its size record on Tuesday, nipping back into capital markets ahead of several of its compatriots, according to a funding official at the issuer. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and NRW.Bank also made the most of the stable conditions, printing their own benchmarks.

Citigroup returned to the Swiss franc bond market after a 10 year absence, navigating through a "perfect storm", after Emmanuel Macron’s election as president of France, to price a bond in line with its dollar funding curve.

Hospital operator Ameos has scheduled a bank meeting for Wednesday morning for a €510m loan refinancing, as banks scramble for deals.

Three public sector borrowers hit screens on Monday, mandating in a euro market buoyed by the defeat of National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French presidential election on Sunday.

Anglo-Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore closed a $7.3bn one year revolving credit line on Wednesday.

Finnish packaging firm Huhtamäki closed a heavily oversubscribed dual currency Schuldschein on Monday as opportunities to invest in multiple currencies attract foreign lenders into the market.

B. Braun, the German medical and pharmaceutical devices firm, set a new Schuldschein record for low margins, launching a €150m triple tranche transaction amid increasingly aggressive pricing conditions.

Commerzbank on Thursday announced two appointments in Asia, including a new CEO for the Asean region.

The stakes have rarely been higher for a French election. When French voters head to the polls on Sunday, it may be to determine the fate of the eurozone.

If the €2.1bn of loans Fresenius and Lufthansa found in the Schuldschein market were counted, the market would beat its record for total volume in a first quarter, nearly hitting €8bn in three months. But, as the volume soars, the number of deals is falling, as large deals exceed initial target sizes.

The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) made a rapid return to the US dollar market on Thursday with a tap of its March 2022s.