Commerzbank

Greece sold the first and only public sector benchmark deal of the week on Wednesday. However, issuers are preparing to return in force in euros and dollars next week, according to bankers.

Greece was the only public sector borrower to announce a new benchmark transaction on Tuesday, picking banks to lead a new five year syndicated deal.

Germany’s Finanzagentur is holding calls with investors this week to sound out interest for a planned syndication of a 30 year green bond, the sovereign’s third and longest deal in the format.

Goldman Sachs found the optimal window to return to the Swiss market this week, as local investors turn towards established names with a bit more yield on offer.

Issuers piled into Europe’s high grade corporate market on Wednesday but investor responses were mixed when it came to the deals at the tightest spreads.

Hochtief, the German construction company, has followed up its bond outing with a revolving credit facility. The deals see the company take on around €750m of debt in the run-up to its annual general meeting.

Coats, the UK industrial thread producer, has signed a $360m loan, adding environmental, social and governance metrics to its bank debt for the first time.

Rating: Aa2/—/AA-

Banks are optimistic that sustainability-linked bonds have a bright future as part of their funding toolkits, after Berlin Hyp became the first financial institution to land a deal in the format this week. More trades are already on the way and market participants are stepping up their efforts to break down the remaining barriers for FIG borrowers.

Royal Schiphol, the Dutch airport, sold €1bn of debt on Thursday, as highly rated names found solid support in the European corporate bond market.

Eurogrid, the German power network company, made light work of a bond market outing on Tuesday, obtaining more than five times oversubscription for a €500m issue in a market subdued by the looming earnings season.

A slew of mandates hit Europe’s high grade corporate bond market on Monday, with issuers increasingly adding their ESG ratings to investor communications that cover their whole enterprise, even if the deal being marketed is not a designated socially responsible investment.