Europe

KfW and Bpifrance were the first public sector borrowers out of the blocks in euros following last Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting in which it unleashed its new comprehensive stimulus package.

Erste Abwicklungsanstalt and NRW.Bank both had a boost on Monday after S&P upgraded their credit ratings a notch, following an upgrade to the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti has announced its intention to float on the Milan Stock Exchange, over a decade after it was taken private by private equity funds.

Banco Sabadell and ASB Finance launched senior bonds in the euro market on Monday, with the former hitting the ‘sweet spot’ of investor appetite and the latter struggling to achieve the same level of demand as its Kiwi peer ANZ New Zealand had last week.

A breakdown of how investors, issuers and lead managers voted in the covered bond awards survey 2019.

Lloyds Bank attracted a large and diverse order book for its €750m 10 year covered bond on Monday and has provided ‘the last missing piece’ for bankers working on Virgin Money’s debut euro covered bond, which is expected to be announced soon.

The blow to oil production in the Middle East seems to have boosted demand for Russian petrochemical giant Sibur's five year dollar benchmark on Monday — the issuer’s first bond in two years.

UniCredit has become the first Italian bank to launch a new deal since a new government took office in the country. The €1.25bn tier two attracted €3bn of orders and was tightened more than expected, according to one of the leads.

MetLife became the first financial institution to launch a new senior bond in euros at a negative yield on Monday, raising €500m at the short end of the maturity curve.

UK coach operator National Express has entered the US private placement market, according to market sources, looking for £200m-equivalent, in dollars, euros and sterling.

Assicurazioni Generali is set to become the first European insurance company to sell a green bond, after unveiling plans on Monday to raise up to €750m of tier two capital for green investments.

Kaspi.kz, the Kazakh payments group, is preparing to list global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange this autumn, as EM deals provide a brief glimmer of hope for the UK capital as Brexit volatility has killed the hopes of many UK issuers.