Crédit Agricole

Two supranationals will take to the market on Thursday to raise money for their socially responsible investment programmes. Inter-American Investment Corporation will raise dollars for its Covid-19 response bond, while Nordic Investment Bank is coming to market for a euro environmental bond. The transactions will share the market with Bank of England’s annual dollar deal.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market faced one of its biggest tests on Wednesday, with France’s Auchan, which operates in the heavily disrupted retail sector, getting a deal away with one of the larger new issue concessions seen in recent weeks.

Italian-American car company Fiat Chrysler has drawn down on its €6.25bn revolving credit facility to shore up its finances during the Covid-19 pandemic, though the company has left a new bridge loan untouched.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) hit the market for dollar paper on Tuesday, with the Manila-based supra going for five years and the French agency opting for three years.

Financial institutions with funding needs that are holding off in anticipation of better issuance conditions are doing it wrong. Waiting until the other side of earnings season to bring deals will likely prove a mistake.

A measured reopening of the primary bond markets in the last month has left banks in a good place to launch new deals after first quarter results, according to FIG DCM officials.

Syctom, a French metropolitan agency responsible for household waste management in the Île-de-France region, printed its debut bond at the end of last week, selling a green bond that will go towards funding sustainable waste management projects in the Paris region.

Europe’s high grade corporate issuers began the week deploying their recent tactic of tightening spreads aggressively during bookbuilding from cheap starting points, with Elia Transmission Belgium ratcheting in its spread by 60bp from initial price thoughts.

BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole enjoyed the best of conditions as they reopened the market for non-preferred senior bonds from eurozone banks this week, but Société Générale ran into market turbulence when it emerged a day later. Bankers said that showed that demand for the instrument remains limited.

Société Générale continued the streak of French bail-in bond issuance on Wednesday but had to pay a higher new issue premium compared to its compatriots.

Greece is looking to become the latest eurozone sovereign to sell a seven year syndicated bond, after mandating banks on Tuesday for the transaction.

France’s La Poste saw almost €14bn of demand for its dual tranche trade on Tuesday, with the state-owned postal service kick-starting the shortened week in style with borrowers expected to start exploring issuance down their capital structures.