Europe

After disappointing trading in Airtel Africa, Traton and Global Fashion, there is hope that ReAssure, the UK life insurer, will fare better when it prices its £793m IPO on the London Stock Exchange on July 11.

The autonomous region of Azores mandated two banks on Thursday for its first visit to the debt capital markets since 2016 and what could be its largest ever bond.

Municipality Finance is looking to publish its social bond framework this year ahead of a debut bond in the format, as it looks to extend its offering of socially responsible bonds.

Covered bond yields plunged further on Thursday, and with the European Central Bank's covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3) expected to be reactivated, it seems likely that negative yielding covered bond issuance will soon extend to issues outside Germany.

Portugal has announced its funding auction plans for the third quarter of the year, with syndicated debt sales also due to be part of the funding mix.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was selling senior debt in euros on Thursday and UBI Banca was marketing tier two bonds, after the pair came rushing into the market to take advantage of a favourable backdrop for Italian credits.

La Banque Postale took its first step into the preferred senior bond this market, securing €750m of tightly priced senior funding in the euro market on Thursday.

Fineco Bank is lining up the sale of a €200m additional tier one (AT1) bond after recently becoming independent from UniCredit — a deal that will make it only the fourth Italian issuer to raise capital in the asset class.

When the Mont-Soleil solar power plant went into operation in early 1992 it was not just the first of its kind in Switzerland: it was the largest photovoltaic installation in Europe.

Energean Oil and Gas, the Greek exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange, won strong investor support on Thursday morning for a transaction backing a new M&A deal.

UK train leasing firm Porterbrook has sent out requests for proposals to US private placement agents, for a prospective return to the market.

An undersupplied sterling bond market was on Wednesday given two new corporate deals to chew on: a £350m three year from carmaker BMW and a £250m no-grow eight year from UK retailer Marks & Spencer. Abertis Infraestructuras, the Spanish roll road operator, also offered a €1.3bn six and 10 year deal.