Coronavirus

Axa said this week that it would call one of its legacy tier two bonds as it reassured the market on the strength of its balance sheet during the coronavirus crisis. Most other insurance companies are not expected to face similar decisions until much later this year.

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets spied an opportunity to launch a new senior bond on Thursday, with credit markets performing well despite the tougher backdrop in equities this week.

Oil firms burst into the corporate bond market on Thursday with BP, Royal Dutch Shell and OMV opening books on multi-tranche trades, as comments from US president Donald Trump sent oil prices rocketing.

Dollar high yield buyers showed up in force for the largest priming debt opportunity provided so far by the coronavirus crisis, Carnival Corporation’s $4bn rescue offering, priced alongside a convertible and an equity capital raising on Wednesday. The package provides funds for the stricken cruise operator until November, but even if the company can’t start sailing again this year or next, investors in the new issue are first in line for the firm’s $38bn of assets.

Hays, the UK recruitment and human resource services company, is in the market with a £200m equity placing to give it enough capital to withstand a halt to much of its business operations because of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the five BRICS countries, sold a Rmb5bn ($704m) three year Panda bond on Thursday. All proceeds will be used to fund an emergency loan NDB recently promised to three Chinese provincial governments to help them combat the Covid-19 outbreak. Rebecca Feng reports.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will prevent its financial institutions from redeeming subordinated bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, putting itself in contrast with other parts of the world, where banks remain free to manage their debt capital as they see fit.

Turkey’s Akbank has refinanced a syndicated loan with tighter margins than its existing facility, as lenders demonstrate unwavering appetite for Turkish debt.

Convertible bonds are emerging as an important tool that companies will use to recapitalise themselves during the Covid-19 crisis alongside selling new shares, particularly for those with weak credit ratings.

EU finance ministers will call on regulatory authorities next week to be as flexible as possible so that banks can carry on lending through the coronavirus crisis, building on initial moves towards supervisory relief.

Two major rating agencies now have Colombia on the lowest rung of the investment grade ladder with a negative outlook after Fitch took action on the sovereign. Cries from former finance ministers that it was an inappropriate time for downgrades fell on deaf ears.

The high yield bond leg of the rescue package for cruise company Carnival is flying off the shelves in the dollar market, leading the company to increase it from $3bn to $4bn, cut pricing, and drop the planned euro tranche entirely — but the equity capital raising is proving tougher and has been shrunk by $500m.