Euro

Greece’s impressive return to the public bond markets this week has set the perfect backdrop for further syndication in 2019, which bankers say could be a 10 year, a maturity it has not tested since its 2014 post-bailout comeback. The big bid for eurozone periphery debt could also see Greek and Italian banks sell covered bonds in the near future, according to market participants. Burhan Khadbai and Bill Thornhill report.

Several public sector borrowers tapped the socially responsible investment (SRI) market this week, with more deals expected in February, before what many analysts expect will be a record year for the asset class.

Issuer Rating: Baa3/BBB/BBB

Spanish telecoms company Telefónica on Monday launched the first green bond in euros from the telecoms sector. The firm, rated as one of Spain’s leading companies in the fight against climate change, published its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework in November but had to wait two months to sell its first green bond.

Bpifrance rode a wave of booming market sentiment following a dovish US Federal Reserve meeting on Thursday to sell its joint largest ever single issue, after originally aiming for a minimum size that was just a third of the amount it ended up printing.

A quiet week for corporate bond issuance may have helped BMW Finance achieve tight pricing on Thursday, but selling its largest ever deal with new issue premiums in single digits was still an excellent outcome when compared to the premiums being paid at the start of the month.

Chinese automobile retailer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has returned for a €1.4bn dual-tranche facility to refinance a bridge loan raised last year for its purchase of a share in Swedish truck maker AB Volvo.

Belgium will begin increasing the size of its €4.5bn April 2033 Green OLO through multiple auctions in 2019.

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank was over three times covered for a 10 year affordable housing bond on Wednesday, allowing it to tighten multiple times during pricing to leave no concession, according to on-looking bankers. Meanwhile, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia has appointed banks to arrange a roadshow in Europe and Asia for a long dated euro sustainability bond.

Investors have come out in huge numbers to buy the three corporate hybrid deals that have been sold so far in 2019. However, the excess demand is unlikely to be sated as the year unfolds.

KfW brought yet another record breaking trade to the SSA market in 2019, printing a five year euro benchmark whose order book volume was an all-time high for the issuer.

Greece has cash. It didn’t need to take €2.5bn of five year bond funding from the capital markets on Tuesday. But the deal was a good tactic to demonstrate that it has access to new capital, which will ultimately push down its borrowing costs and push up its credit ratings. It worked for Portugal, so why not Greece?