Deutsche Bank

AstraZeneca, the UK drug maker, hit the euro market on Wednesday after printing $7bn across the Atlantic a day earlier. The borrower is building up funds to pay for its $39bn acquisition of US rival Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Europe’s high grade corporate borrowers piled into the bond market on Wednesday to sell debt before the public holiday weekend in the UK. Investors showed no signs of indigestion on one of the busiest days of the year so far.

ABN Amro brushed aside concerns about the bid for long end paper on Wednesday, as it secured a tight spread on a 12 year deal in the euro market. It was joined by a couple of other banks targeting more conventional maturities.

A favourable move in the basis swap allowed the Province of Quebec to return to the Swiss franc market after seven years away this week, landing its latest bond at a spread flat to its domestic curve.

Helaba came close to fair value with the pricing for its green and non-preferred senior debut on Wednesday, maintaining a solid order book despite competing supply in euros.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market had a distinctly Spanish flavour on Tuesday as Cellnex and Merlin Properties issued. Some analysts predict that the healthy earnings season might mean a 15% rise in bond issuance from the European market.

Deutsche Bank held a three hour “deepdive” into its sustainability actions for clients, investors, the press and NGOs last week, with its CEO Christian Sewing and all its business heads. It coincided with an array of announcements, which even earned a favourable comment from Moody’s, including that Deutsche is accelerating its €200bn sustainable financing target. But those hoping for more detail on how Deutsche will decarbonise its financing were disappointed.

Deutsche Bank is shifting about 100 banking jobs in its corporate banking division out of the UK to locations in Europe and Asia as part of a restructuring.

Bank borrowers returned to a stronger euro bond market on Tuesday, but deal arrangers warned of lingering concern over rates and inflation as KBC Group struggled to draw a crowd for a long-dated offering.

Three Chinese borrowers and one Hong Kong issuer hit the international bond market on Monday, getting ahead of a pick-up in deal flow expected in the rest of the week.

Volatility subsided amid a series of public holidays in Europe on Monday, raising hopes for a busier week of bank bond supply.

Metropolitan Life ended an almost 12 month absence from euros this week as the insurer raced towards what could be its busiest year since 2019.