Currencies

Two SSA borrowers landed in the euro bond market on Wednesday while a third lined up business for next week. Issuers may still be achieving good results but bankers believe conditions are turning bad.

Barclays returned to the Kangaroo bond market this week after being absent for two years to raise A$600m across three tranches of holding company debt. The market was split over which tranche offered the most value in pricing.

LimakPort, the Turkish international port, entered the debt market on Tuesday, while Turk Eximbank has successfully secured a dollar syndicated loan facility. Turkish issuers are demonstrating resilience, market participants say, amid the heightened levels of domestic and political volatility in the last three months.

Barclays is set to end a two year absence from the Kangaroo bond market this week, as it seeks up to three tranches of callable senior debt.

Germany has picked banks for its eagerly awaited 30 year green bond. Bankers expect the deal to go well since it will be one of the rare German syndications to offer a positive yield.

Nordea made a rare entry into the euro tier two market on Monday, taking advantage of strong issuance conditions to steer its pricing in close to fair value.

European banks began to access the dollar market this week following first quarter earnings, while JP Morgan stole the show on Wednesday with a record low coupon for a preferred note.

Emirates telecom provider Etisalat landed in the euro market with a bond on Thursday, raising €1bn across two tranches in a currency that is fast becoming a home for EM borrowers.

Despite paying a chunky new issue premium, Deutsche Bahn was still able to score some attractive arbitrage with its latest Swiss franc deal this week, and with favourable pricing on offer for foreign names, bankers are confident more could follow.

A $7bn equivalent nine-tranche bond issued by London Stock Exchange Group in March put the newest generation of bond documentation software through its paces. It was the first deal of its size and complexity to use one of the growing array of automation technology platforms.

Banco Santander was targeting two currencies for additional tier one debt on Thursday, following closely behind a blowout euro deal for Deutsche Bank.

Zuercher Kantonalbank paid a generous spread this week for its first senior deal in euros, as rates investors showed no hesitation in adding exposure to the state-backed financial institution.