Commerzbank

Commerzbank has chosen its human resources boss Bettina Orlopp to be its new chief financial officer. She will oversee the bank’s new strategic programme — ‘5.0’ — which involves the corporate clients division hiring to focus on German distribution.

UniCredit forms sustainability team — UBS looks to raise game in green with SEB hire — SG reshuffles Paris ECM line-up

The corporate bond market took its foot off the gas a little on Thursday, and Dutch gas distribution firm Netherlands Gasunie had the market to itself as it extended its curve by three years.

Siberian Anthracite, the largest producer of anthracite coal in Russia, has closed a dual currency loan refinancing, adding a large euro chunk to its existing dollar debt. The deal points to a growing inclination towards euro funding among Russian borrowers in a bid to avoid operational and sanction-related obstacles, say bankers.

Nederlandse Gasunie, the Dutch natural gas infrastructure company, is looking to print a fresh 12 year euro benchmark bond as early as Thursday, as it wraps up a tender offer for €1bn of older notes.

Norbert Doerr is set to leave his position as head of capital management and funding at Commerzbank, after 12 years working within the German lender’s treasury team.

Sparebank 1 Østlandet priced €500m of debt in senior preferred format at a spread of 67bp over mid-swaps this week — 8bp tighter than the initial price talk. The issuer is not a frequent visitor to the primary market, so it had to pay a higher premium than other borrowers, according to a banker away from the deal.

While it is no surprise that a public sector borrower has brought the first floating rate note linked to the euro short term rate (€STR), it was a surprise that a small German agency would bring the inaugural transaction, especially as it is some weeks before the European Central Bank (ECB) is due to begin publishing the recommended new risk-free rate.

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) is seeking lenders’ consent to amend terms of a $5.5bn dual-tranche loan sealed last year, as it undergoes a debt restructuring, according to bankers.

Most investment grade corporate bonds issued over the past weeks have had intermediate to longer tenors, but on Monday issuance tilted towards the shorter end, as GlaxoSmithKline printed two negative yielding tranches.

Banco Sabadell and ASB Finance launched senior bonds in the euro market on Monday, with the former hitting the ‘sweet spot’ of investor appetite and the latter struggling to achieve the same level of demand as its Kiwi peer ANZ New Zealand had last week.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has closed its annual refinancing, securing a $1.3bn facility from a range of international lenders. The facility, Cocobod's second international borrowing this year, has tighter margins than last year's round, illustrating a healthy appetite for one of Africa's most frequent borrowers.