Europe

ASR Nederland has asked its bondholders for permission to increase the size of its only restricted tier one (RT1) from €300m to €500m — a move that the Dutch insurer hopes will increase the ‘tradability and liquidity’ of the subordinated debt instrument.

Shares in fertilizer miner Sirius Minerals plummeted as much as 60% on Tuesday morning after the company was forced to finally pull a $500m high yield bond offering it had postponed in August.

After a tumultuous year, the UK’s Metro Bank is readying a return to the bond market to raise debt for its minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) ahead of a 2020 deadline.

Zero-E, the Spanish renewable energy firm, is targeting October to launch its IPO and is hoping that fair markets and growing demand for sustainable assets will propel it to success.

Fears are growing that Ukraine’s Privatbank, which was nationalised in 2016 at the behest of the IMF, may be reprivatised thanks to pressure from its former owner, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Such a move could jeopardise Ukraine’s chances of a new helping of IMF cash and the country’s bonds have sold off in response.

A 13.3m share sale in Zalando, the German e-commerce company, met with strong investor interest on Monday night.

Aviva Investors has appointed a head of environmental, social and governance for its real estate business.

Investment firm Man Group has picked ex-Deutsche Bank boss John Cryan to be its next chair.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX’s) proposition to acquire the London Stock Exchange Group last week was nothing short of bewildering. Instead of showcasing the HKEX’s ambition with such a bid, the move has only served as an embarrassing reminder of the bourse’s shortfalls.

Most investment grade corporate bonds issued over the past weeks have had intermediate to longer tenors, but on Monday issuance tilted towards the shorter end, as GlaxoSmithKline printed two negative yielding tranches.

French telecommunications company Altice France added another €1bn to its bond package, taking advantage of the historically issuer-friendly market conditions. The tranches were finalised after the European Central Bank announced a new round of stimulus, pushing down bond yields across the board.

This week's scorecard looks at the progress Nordic agencies have made in their 2019 funding programmes by the middle of September.