Coronavirus

The first two sovereign benchmarks since February are set to hit the market on Tuesday. Although volatility has not yet abated, bankers are eager for the deals to establish new price points for public sector issuers to start funding their responses to coronavirus.

The Free State of Bavaria enjoyed a strong reception from investors as it returned to the capital markets on Monday for the first time since 2014 to fund a Covid-19 fiscal package by the Bavarian government.

Wild volatility has again put Europe's corporate bond primary market on hold, but syndicate bankers say the roaring demand for Friday's two transactions by Engie and Unilever shows that there is still a market for issuers willing to accept wider spreads and bigger new issue premiums and nimble enough to leap through an issuance window as soon as it opens.

Institutional investors in the US private placement market are preparing for a round of covenant waivers, as companies brace for the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Bankers in turn are shelving primary issuance plans and turning their attention to winning amendment mandates.

Three UK companies have already flagged their interest in the Bank of England’s emergency commercial paper funding scheme for large businesses, announced on March 20. The big three rating agencies will help fast-track unrated investment grade issuers into the scheme, but the strict eligibility limits leave leveraged and smaller companies out in the cold.

The UK Debt Management Office will boost the size of its Gilt issuance programme for its upcoming financial year by up to an additional £45bn in response to the UK’s fiscal package to counter the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a head of UK rates strategy.

The spread of Covid-19 in the Middle East and the simultaneous drop in oil prices has prompted governments across the region to increase borrowing from capital markets. But some credits will have a far easier ride than others, bankers and experts said.

A rush to dollars in recent days has caused dysfunctions in various corners of the financial markets. The US Federal Reserve has rushed to put out the flames, including with new measures on Monday.

Aareal Bank has become the latest European financial institution to extend the life of an additional tier one instrument, as turbulent market conditions make it harder for banks to decide how to manage their capital structures.

Airbus, the European aerospace company, has signed a new €15bn credit facility as it looks to ride out effects of the Covid-19 pandemic upon its sector. The company is ramping up liquidity on the assumption it will not have access to capital markets.

The Nordic region’s credit markets are experiencing something of a lockdown as the spread of Covid-19 lead to dozens of fund providers halting withdrawals last week and the effective closure of the primary market due to a shortage of liquidity.

Martín Guzmán, Argentina’s finance minister, said on Friday afternoon that the country was “ready to intensify interaction” with international bondholders ahead of a debt restructuring. But with authorities set to announce further spending to protect its people from the economic impact of Covid-19, the IMF echoed the government’s view that a fiscal surplus was unfeasible in the short term.