Commerzbank

French electrical utility Engie found success with a benchmark dual tranche issue of corporate bonds on its third visit to the euro bond market in 2018. The company opted for no-grows with both tranches, which served to increase demand markedly compared with its previous deal.

The European Investment Bank launched its new line of Sustainability Awareness Bonds on Thursday, with a €500m issue that found keen demand from investors. The EIB hopes the SABs will influence the debate on classification in the world of sustainable finance, including the European Commission’s new official Taxonomy of sustainable economic activities.

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The European Investment Bank achieved very tight pricing for the launch of its first sustainability bond on Thursday, in a sign that the exhaustive marketing it had done for the €500m deal had succeeded. The EIB sees this new product line as a way to influence market practice in the direction of clear explanation of sustainability goals and indicators.

A day after Swedish bearings and seals manufacturer SKF announced a tender offer for its outstanding short dated bonds, it sold a €300m seven year bond to finance the buy-back.

Lloyds Bank is set to bring the first ever FIG benchmark linked to Sonia on Tuesday, alongside three issuers bringing euro benchmarks and one selling a tap.

The corporate bond market started at a frantic pace on Tuesday with five deals pricing. But on Wednesday French tyre manufacturer Michelin found its patience was rewarded with a chance to dominate investors’ attention and it was able to build the largest order book for a 20 year euro tranche in 2018.

Syndicate bankers on Tuesday’s triple tranche deal from German machinery maker Siemens claimed to be the winners on a day of very competitive supply.

There was little in the way of emerging market bond issuance this week to set the tone for the usually busy month of September. Although mBank raised €500m of four year money, CEE-focused Atrium European Real Estate had yet to appear with a deal that had been planned for Thursday.

The corporate bond market started at a frantic pace on Tuesday with five deals pricing. But on Wednesday French tyre manufacturer Michelin found its patience was rewarded with a chance to dominate investors’ attention.

mBank, a Polish financial institution, has hit the market with what will be the first euro benchmark from a CEEMEA borrower in over a month, taking what some investors believe is a cautious approach to reopening the market.

The autumn term has definitely begun in Europe’s corporate bond market. BMW and Daimler, which launched deals last week, may have been the scholarship swots who returned extra-early, but this week the whole sweaty gang of issuers is back en masse, and making plenty of noise.