Crédit Agricole

France’s Korian has amended and extended its bank facility, with the nursing home operator cutting the size to €1bn and a chunky wedge off the margin.

China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) raked in $600m on Monday from its third green bond sale, benefitting from investors’ eagerness for investment grade paper.

Europe's investment grade corporate bond market began the week with a hefty pack of new bond issues, as issuers were spurred on to bring deals by last week's rally and the favourable performance of past prints.

Agence Francaise de Développement was the only public sector borrower to mandate banks for a new benchmark bond on Monday, as squeezed yields cause issuers to hold off from the primary market.

Issuance in Swedish kronor picked up this week, with three corporate issuers placing Skr6.28bn ($667.9m) across four private placements, as issuers looked to get in ahead of the midsummer break. In euros, a Dutch and French agency both placed paper, while protests in Hong Kong caused yields to spike in offshore Chinese renminbi and Hong Kong dollars.

Former Crédit Agricole banker Christoph Paul has been appointed by Mizuho Securities.

The rally set off European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's assertion on Tuesday that further quantitative easing was possible, if not probable, had reached a level by Wednesday that astonished bankers. Three investment grade companies took advantage that day with benchmark bond issues, while one brought a tap.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) sealed a $1bn transaction on Tuesday with a combination of floating and fixed rate notes, on the back of a nearly seven times subscribed deal at its peak.

Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) made a remarkable return to the debt market on Monday, selling a $500m green bond as its first public dollar deal in 15 years.

Renault issued a €1bn bond from its industrial arm on Monday, after a tumultuous few weeks in which the company had negotiated a (for now) abandoned merger offer from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The deal came amid a busy flurry of smaller issues.

Financial institutions piled most of this week's debt supply into a busy Monday session, with BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Credit Suisse and KBC Group all launching senior deals for the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) at the same time. All four lenders came close to fair value for their offerings.

A pair of French agencies hit screens with new SRI notes this week. On Wednesday, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations came to market with its debut sustainable bond, the first under a new green, social and sustainable framework. And on Thursday, Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens steamed in with its second ever green bond.