Deutsche Bank

German automation equipment maker Schenck Process is returning to the loan market to refinance senior and mezzanine credit facilities with a €455m loan. It had to pull a €605m deal last June because investors thought the terms were too aggressive.

Banks are shrinking, the industry is shrinking, and big splashy hires are a thing of the past. So when a senior FIG banker, in a secure seat, at a solid institution jumps ship, there’s a mystery afoot.

In this round-up, China reports the first gain in foreign exchange reserves for March, a treasury official said preparations for the Shenzhen Connect have been completed, an RMB globalisation index dropped further in February, and Deutsche Bank assisted a corporate client set up a cross-border RMB liquidity solution. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

Lat Am syndicate bankers said on Thursday that the market remained in wait-and-see mode ahead of Argentina’s imminent jumbo bond return as another week passed without issuance.

Banca Popolare di Vicenza on Thursday launched premarketing for its €1.5bn IPO and capital increase, after a period of uncertainty when UniCredit, the underwriter, had cast doubt on whether it could be completed by the end of April deadline.

The European high yield bond market burst into life this week with the largest single tranche deal of the year and — more significantly, said some bankers — the first euro deal from a US issuer.

Slovenian Sovereign Holding, which manages state assets, has chosen Deutsche Bank as financial adviser for the privatisation of Nova Ljubljanska banka. It will probably be done as an IPO, possibly this year.

Covered bond borrowers in the UK, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands met with strong receptions for their transactions this week, which collectively raised nearly €6bn.

The Schaeffler family’s €1.24bn clear-out block trade in Schaeffler non-voting shares failed to clear on Monday night, leaving the four lead banks long of the stock.

The Joint Laender reached its 50th deal two months after it was forced to postpone a planned transaction, printing a €1.5bn seven year benchmark that proceeded smoothly this time round.

Rather than cherry picking its favourite banks for its $10bn sovereign loan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will “pull together a handful of banks” to get the deal done, according to a banker in discussions with the sovereign.

Deutsche Bank made its second visit to the senior unsecured market within a month on Thursday, offering investors an eye catching price for a two year floating rate deal.