Coronavirus

Europe’s banks sniff opportunities amid the crisis as they look to build out their corporate broking businesses, but they will face fights to remove incumbents, writes David Rothnie.

Belgium and Ireland announced increases to their 2020 funding requirements this week, as they look to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tianqi Lithium Corp’s rising debt burden since its acquisition of a stake in a Chilean mining company two years ago is causing trouble. The Chinese borrower is seeking covenant waivers and a tenor extension on part of a $3.5bn loan, raising concerns among bankers about the performance of other commodity credits amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Pan Yue reports.

Credit Suisse took a $294m hit from marking leveraged finance underwriting exposure to market in the first quarter, its results on Thursday showed, as March’s volatility and jump in credit spreads took their toll.

India’s equity capital markets have welcomed a temporary loosening of rules around IPOs and rights issues, with bankers saying it could help push out deals as soon as market conditions stabilise. Jonathan Breen reports.

Asia’s bond market set a blistering pace this week, with nearly $4.2bn of deals sold through Wednesday and one of the busiest days since the global spread of the coronavirus. But although the successful deals are a sign that market sentiment is improving, bankers are cautious about what is yet to come. Morgan Davis reports.

Mexico’s deputy finance minister told GlobalCapital that proceeds from Wednesday’s $6bn blow-out bond would not be used to help state oil giant Pemex, despite several investors believing the government needed to issue more to prop up the debt-laden company with oil price having crashed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico will continue to monitor international markets even after printing a $6bn triple-tranche deal on Wednesday, and this might include a buy-back of green bonds that were issued to finance the construction of a new airport that ended up being cancelled by the current administration.

Spain enjoyed enormous demand for a 10 year syndicated bond on Tuesday, with an order book which was almost double the previous record for a single tranche euro public sector benchmark. Bankers away from the deal said investors were attracted by the big new issue premium on offer.

Banks providing reserve-based lending facilities to oil exploration companies are looking to sell these loans, usually held and refinanced as ultra-secure relationship products, at bargain basement prices.

Some bank treasury teams are weighing up whether to access the primary market ahead of first quarter results, with bankers suggesting they could take advantage of growing demand amid falling supply.

Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has increased its funding programme for the year by €10bn following measures announced by the government to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.