Coronavirus

DCM officials have expressed surprise at the speed with which the market has adapted to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, with issuers able to complete deals quickly and with little extra fuss.

Banks have been building their financial sponsor coverage teams on a record period of deal making. Now they have a different fight on their hands, but bankers are playing down the threat of a 2008-style meltdown, writes David Rothnie.

JP Morgan scooped up $10bn of senior funding in a four-part deal on Thursday, after becoming the first US lender to report having as asset base worth more than $3tr.

Several investors have told GlobalCapital of their concern for the outlook of UK universities as borrowers. They worry that the spread of coronavirus will hit revenues, lower the demand from international students and may in the end hasten a shift towards remote learning.

The CFO of Banco Santander Mexico told GlobalCapital that the lender had decided to get ahead of a possible surge in demand for credit by issuing the largest ever bond by a Mexican bank on Tuesday. But DCM and syndicate bankers worry that most Latin American issuers are not taking advantage of strong markets to shore up cash positions with the full impact of the Covid-19 crisis still unknown.

The World Bank smashed size records on Wednesday with an $8bn five year sustainable development bond. The proceeds will go towards funding the supranational’s projects supporting good health and well-being, the third of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Greece did not attract the huge reception from investors that it has grown used to over the last few years, despite paying a considerable new issue premium and being eligible for the European Central Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP).

JP Morgan has taken an $820m writedown on its book of bridge loans, nearly halving its investment banking revenues for the first quarter. However, the bank is not hurrying to exit these positions. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said “a couple” of its bridges could be syndicated this quarter if conditions are supportive.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Tuesday, April 14. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

The UK’s Hipgnosis Songs has increased the size of its sterling revolving credit facility, as bankers say that the coronavirus crisis means many more borrowers will look to increase existing credit lines where they can.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) tapped the Indonesian rupiah market for its latest Covid-19 response bond this week, becoming the first SSA to print a response bond in an emerging market currency.

French president Emmanuel Macron may have extended the country’s Covid-19 lockdown until May 11 but equity bankers took hope from his address to the country this week.