Euro

Unédic, the French unemployment agency, had the euro SSA primary market to itself on Wednesday, allowing it to comfortably print €3bn with its second social bond benchmark of the 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 Tuesday, March 23. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

The European Union made a quick trip to the bond market on Tuesday morning to collect €13bn — €8bn at five years and €5bn at 25. It found itself selling into stronger market conditions than have prevailed for the past few weeks, thanks to the European Central Bank’s beefed up intervention. But despite the strong backdrop, the market is still quieter than expected.

Greece has struggled with the colossal challenge of rehabilitating its capital markets reputation since its debt crisis in 2009. But last week, it took a big step forward, returning to the 30 year tenor for the first time in well over a decade. Dimitrios Tsakonas, head of the Greek Public Debt Management Agency. told GlobalCapital about the journey the PDMA has undertaken.

Barclays and Standard Chartered gave euro investors rare opportunities to build subordinated exposure to UK banks this week. The issuers were looking to benefit from strong market conditions during a more stable trading period for interest rates.

It was a long time coming, but Greece finally completed its curve with a 30 year bond on Wednesday. This was its first in the tenor since before the global financial crisis. The bond was a success, despite a choppy backdrop.

Standard Chartered gave euro investors another rare opportunity to build exposure to UK subordinated debt on Tuesday, as it followed Barclays in issuing a tier two transaction in the currency.

Agence France Trésor (AFT), the French sovereign debt office, mandated banks on Monday to lead the sale of the sovereign’s second green OAT, returning to the market for the first time since its debut in 2017.

Aviva was met with strong demand for a tender offer this week, prompting the firm to buy back £200m more bonds than expected and increase the size of its debt reduction targets.

Rating: —/AA/AA

A pair of French agencies hit the market on Wednesday, pulling off impressive deals ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, where investors hope to hear promises of increased support.

Intesa Sanpaolo saved a couple of basis points with the sale of a new senior bond from its green issuance framework on Tuesday, compared to fair value on a conventional deal. The new issue came as markets remained on edge ahead of the European Central Bank’s next meeting.