Europe

Münchener Hypothekenbank was the only financial institution to issue a euro bond this week, selling a senior non-preferred deal on Wednesday. The German lender attracted demand roughly similar to the bond's size of €250m, set from the start.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the second largest steel producer in Russia is embarking on a roadshow for a dollar benchmark five year bond — its first for 16 years.

Russian borrowers are making their presence felt in international capital markets. Two syndicated loans are expected to close this week, as well as a bond from a steel manufacturer. The sovereign is also eyeing up the the primary bond market, but the threat of further US sanctions still looms.

Covered bond spreads have tightened a long way since the year began and, with risk aversion creeping up, it is likely that new issue premiums will rise too, particularly since some investors will be inclined to book profits.

Crédit Agricole has hired a former Barclays DCM banker for its corporate DCM desk.

Marel, the Icelandic meat processing machinery company, has secured cornerstone orders from BlackRock and Credit Suisse Asset Management for its €350m IPO on Euronext Amsterdam.

Trainline, the UK transport booking website, said on Tuesday that it plans to raise £75m of new capital, having confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.

Hiddensee, a new research provider, is aiming to take advantage of MiFID II’s unbundling requirements by giving analysts a platform to work independently and allowing investors to pay for specific researchers or reports.

UK capital markets issuers and investors who want to do deals need to prepare to ignore Brexit and come to market. There is no sense in waiting for political calm — the European election result shows it simply is not going to come.

Companies wanting to issue bonds in Europe this week will have to shoot their deals through narrow gaps between holidays, as Thursday is a holiday in several European countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands.

SMBC has mandated leads for a roadshow with plans to issue its first dollar covered bond and the second in euros.

Covered bond deals issued on Tuesday by the Swedish Covered Bond Corp (SCBC) and UniCredit Bank Austria were priced tightly but the market proved softer than recent sessions and price sensitivity limited the Swedish bank’s size ambitions.