Currencies

Central banks across the world seem to be heading towards rate cuts, accelerated by the need to mitigate the economic effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. An unintended consequence of this is an increasing scarcity of attractive arbitrage funding opportunities for borrowers. This sort of funding, typically a perk of the best rated borrowers, will concentrate funding risk for them instead — ironically at a time when they should benefit from their safe haven status.

Two German states rebooted the primary SSA market on Tuesday with intraday deals at the opposite ends of the euro curve. The five year deal was almost two times covered but there were no book updates for the 15 year.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, March 2. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Dubai Islamic Bank, which began roadshows over a week ago for a senior unsecured sukuk, has postponed the deal as a result of the Covid-19 virus, according to bankers near the deal. The spread of the virus has caused sharp swings in global markets, causing havoc in primary markets.

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Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals company, on Tuesday sold its first Swiss franc bond since being acquired by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) in 2017. But other mandated deals hang in the balance as the Covid-19 coronavirus spreads across Europe.

Unédic was almost three times covered for a 10 year bond on Thursday, with the leads pointing to the relative value of the trade and the quality of name as the factors behind its success against a difficult market backdrop.

Chinese brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Securities is out for a one-year bridge loan, seeking HK$3bn ($385m) for its international loan market debut.

Bank of China took Covid-19-linked bonds offshore on Thursday with a dual currency two year transaction, which was offered through its Macau branch.

Spain was able to raise €5bn of 30 year paper on Tuesday, braving difficult market conditions to close the deal. While the trade was a success, the sharp fall in the order book at the final spread indicated some investors are beginning to push back on price.

Russian Railways is embarking on a roadshow to market the first ever green Swiss franc bond from Russia, even as fears of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus continue to infect EM bond trading.