Euro

Rating: Aaa/AAA

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) will look to fill the €1bn-€1.5bn it has left to raise this year with its annual water bond benchmark and potentially a short end benchmark. That is in keeping with the wider SSA market, where bankers expect socially responsible investment (SRI) issuance to form the bulk of this year’s final trades.

The European Financial Stability Facility finished off its 2018 issuance this week with what was likely the last jumbo euro benchmark of the year. The deal was solid, but SSA bankers warned the euro market feels “tired”.

Two emerging market (EM) sovereigns hit the euro market this week: one debuting and the other returning after a year-long absence. Both deals met with warm receptions, giving some credibility to the notion that euro investors will be happy to stay in EM deals even as quantitative easing (QE) winds up and rates climb.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia rounded out the week’s euro issuance with an oversubscribed 10 year euro deal that was priced 1bp inside guidance.

BMW Finance found no reduction in the demand for its paper, despite its new issue on Thursday being its fourth dual-tranche deal of the year. The company has sold at least €1.75bn during each previous quarter of 2018, and it hit that mark again with its shortest combination of tenors.

American pharmaceutical company Allergan, best known for its cosmetic drug Botox, returned to Europe on Thursday for a new three tranche corporate bond deal. The €1.7bn transaction fell short of the company’s debut €2.7bn deal, but was a filip for a market that had been silent the previous day due to the US mid-term elections.

UK hotel group InterContinental’s debut euro deal was the smallest of three new corporate bond deals on Thursday after Wednesday saw no new issuance. While Allergan and BMW sold multi-tranche deals, IHG’s deal had been well flagged and still received due attention from investors.

Turkey’s first euro benchmark in four years hit the market on Wednesday, raising €1.5bn with a February 2026 deal before being hit by a sell-off.

On Tuesday, Logicor, the largest provider of logistics property in Europe, made its debut in the euro corporate bond market. The €1.8bn three tranche deal is believed to be the largest debut trade by a real estate company in euros.

A pair of rare euro bonds from sovereign emerging markets borrowers hit the market this week, much to the approval of investors who said the deals provided “good value”.

Turkey hit screens on Wednesday, announcing a February 2026 euro benchmark, following up on its success in dollars in October.