Commerzbank

Rumours that the European Central Bank will add German regions to its public sector purchase programme fuelled demand for a State of Hessen benchmark on Thursday, said bankers.

Vodafone has attracted a €2.5bn order book for a €750m five year bond, its first since negotiations over an asset swap with Liberty Global fell through.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has signed its $77m loan, the first international syndicated loan this year for a borrower in Nigeria, which has been struggling with a low oil price and political instability.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Belgian-Brazilian brewer, mandated a group of 21 banks to provide its $75bn loan facility, but there was no coordinator as AB InBev took an active role in arranging the transaction.

As Ecobank syndicates one of the first Nigerian loans of the year, new lenders are joining the syndicate from Africa and, more surprisingly, the Middle East.

Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) went for size on Thursday as it was set to print a €500m tap of its outstanding September 2017 floating rate notes, bringing the total outstanding debt to €1.15bn.

Rheinmetall, the German car parts and ammunition maker, has raised €230m from an accelerated bookbuild representing a 9.99% increase in its share capital.

A German state is on track to wrap up its funding for the year on Thursday, as an agency from the country is tipped to bring a benchmark next week.

First City Monument Bank will close the first Nigerian bank loan of the year, a $75m later today (Wednesday), according to a banker close to the deal.

WPP, the UK advertising firm, attracted more than €3bn of orders for its four year benchmark bond on Tuesday as investors showed they were willing to turn on the taps for the right deal.

Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (AT&S), an Austrian printed circuit board manufacturer, has tapped the Schuldschein market. The firm is getting more than an attractive interest rate, as it exploits the product’s Asian investors.

Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) will close a $75m loan this week, in a deal that cuts FCMB’s dollar syndicated loans from $150m to $75m.