Europe

Two French public sector borrowers are preparing to return to the green bond market, with the latter going on a roadshow to plug its first benchmark issue since 2017.

NRW.Bank printed a $750m four year trade on Wednesday, with the borrower the latest to benefit from the cash piles that dollar investors are sitting on.

Associated British Ports is planning to become the first bond issuer to solicit the consent of bondholders to change the terms, so that the coupon switches from Libor to Sonia.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group issued a green senior bond on Wednesday and paid no new issue premium after it received demand of twice its final size of €500m.

Nationwide Building Society priced the tightest UK covered bond this year on Wednesday and still managed to issue in a good size. The deal was well timed to take advantage of recent spread tightening with little hint of investor hesitation, even though Brexit concerns are set to mount.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Tuesday that a sanctions bill restricting companies involved in Russia's Nord Stream 2 project would come in the “not too distant future”. That left investors wondering how and if this will affect their portfolios as bond bankers dredged up memories of when Nord Stream 1 was on track to print its own international bond through BNP Paribas before capital markets sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2014.

Berlin Hyp (BHH) was able to price its first 10 year Pfandbrief flat to fair value reflecting the paucity of supply in this part of the curve. But even though the bonds were well subscribed, a little investor sensitivity was evident.

Trainline, the UK transport booking website, is preparing to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The deal is expected to value the company at around £1.5bn, according to a source close to matter.

UK retailer Marks & Spencer has set the terms on its fully underwritten £601m rights issue with shareholders already understood to be supportive of the deal, despite the risk hanging over the UK.

Lloyds is yet to confirm whether it will redeem an outstanding additional tier one (AT1) deal, callable on June 27, just as banking authorities have increased the pressure on financial institutions to justify their decisions to call such debt.

Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK)’s $500m seven year bond drew a book in excess of $1.5bn on Wednesday morning allowing leads to tighten initial guidance, which they said offered a 30bp new issue concession.

Bank of America is covering more clients than ever in a quest to overhaul its rivals at the summit of the league table rankings, spelling further bad news for European banks, writes David Rothnie.