Euro

French bank Société Générale made a triumphant return to the dollar market this week, with its first additional tier one (AT1) capital issue in the currency for more than two years.

Financial institutions jumped into action this week, as positive news on the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to superlative funding conditions in the euro market.

The euro SSA market was dominated by French issuers this week, with borrowers working swiftly to finish off their enlarged 2020 funding programmes once the EU had cleared the decks.

Unédic, the French unemployment agency, will look to complete its €15bn funding programme on Thursday, coming to market in the footsteps of the EU’s second outing.

Ontario Teachers’ Finance Trust (OTFT) is preparing to issue its inaugural green bond under its new framework aligned to the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles.

Unédic and Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Sociale (Cades) still have sizeable amounts of funding to raise before the end of the year and, with only a few weeks remaining, will look to issue after the EU clears the decks this week.

Three banks launched new senior deals in euros on Monday, taking advantage of a jubilant tone in the market following Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election. That sentiment received a further boost during the morning trading session when Pfizer and BioNTech revealed successful Covid-19 vaccine trials.

HSBC Holdings did not need to wait for a result in the US presidential election as it opened order books for a dual-tranche senior deal in euros on Friday, paving the way for further supply in the FIG market next week.

Germany found lacklustre demand for its second ever green bond on Wednesday. The sovereign had to contend with a big drop in Bund yields following uncertainty over the US election result.

An ESG think tank believes that the European Central Bank should drop Alberta’s euro bonds from its list of eligible marketable assets, as a punishment for its support for polluting industries. But while it is a laudable aim, it is not practicable.

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, October 26. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Greece hit the market this week with a €2bn tap, neatly threading a needle between the EU’s jumbo debut and a hefty 30 year from Italy. But unlike other sovereigns, the exercise was not a scramble for cash to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.