Commerzbank

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.

Poor conditions in the third quarter slowed the primary markets, and held Commerzbank’s investment bank profit down to just €32m, according to the bank’s head of corporates and markets, Michael Reuther.

Senior loans bankers report they are working through the night to cope with the surge in Middle East loans, as even the Sultanate of Oman piled into the market to grab funding while it can. After all, the conditions will not last, writes Elly Whittaker.

Six borrowers raised nearly €5bn in the covered bond market this week, once again surpassing supply expectations. The star attraction, notable for both its size and tenor, was a €1.5bn three year from the Norwegian issuer, Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt.

Tata Chemicals Europe’s £140m ($216m) dual-tranche facility has been launched into limited syndication, marking the borrower’s return to the syndicated loan market after a four year break.