Currencies

Forecasts that Europe’s corporate bond market would be all but closed for the summer this week were belied by Unilever on Monday when it launched its biggest-ever euro bond and took some of the tightest corporate pricing ever.

International Finance Corporation introduced the Kauri market to green bonds on Thursday, after opening books on a socially responsible New Zealand dollar note with a NZ$100m ($75.2m) minimum.

With no new issues pricing on Thursday, and no sign of Superstrada Pedemontana Veneta’s €1.55bn dual tranche deal, it could be left to The Housing Finance Corp (THFC) to save the investment grade corporate bond market from a three day run without any issuance.

The three new issues and one tap that priced in the investment grade corporate bond market this week were all two to three times oversubscribed, but a thinning supply pipeline and the excuse of a Fed meeting meant no deals were launched on Wednesday or Thursday. However, three issuers are looking to issue before the summer break, following meetings with investors.

After Monday’s British flavour to corporate bond issuance, German real estate company, Grand City Properties brought the only new issue in the market on Tuesday, as part of an exercise to extend the average maturity of its debt.

Chinese steel producer Shougang Corp Co is taking bids for its inaugural appearance in the euro bond market.

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank has become the first European SSA to print in the Swiss market since 2015, citing a favourable move in the euro/Swiss franc basis swap as a reason for the return.

NRW.Bank announced on Wednesday that it will go on the road at the end of August to market its fifth green bond.

A hedge fund manager who bought some of Greece’s comeback €3bn five year bonds on Tuesday believes that the paper will trade “like a rates instrument” rather than credit, despite the bonds being marketed at an absolute yield level more akin to the high yield corporate market.

Bain Capital’s Diamond, the cleaning chemicals business, had to remove a controversial restricted payment clause before printing the triple-C rated bonds of its new financial structure on Tuesday.

Greece’s return to bond issuance on Tuesday drew praise from bankers across the SSA sector, who are now eagerly waiting to see whether the book — much smaller than its previous comeback bond in April 2014 — trumps that older deal for quality.

Some may question whether Greece should have waited until after the summer before bringing its second comeback bond in three years, but the issuer and the banks should be applauded for a job well done. Now the focus must turn to debt relief.