Europe

Sampo Group started to meet investors on Thursday, aiming to print a tier two note. ASR Nederland was the last insurer to raise tier two capital, in a deal that was more than 10 times oversubscribed.

Lloyds Bank found good demand for its third visit to the sterling covered bond market in the last eight months and the largest Sonia linked bond of that type issued this year. Attractive relative value and a prospective supply slowdown propelled demand, enabling the deal to be priced flat to fair value.

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping company, has signed a 10 year loan facility with three international lenders. Russian syndicated loan volumes remain low, but Sovcomflot is widely regarded by bankers as one of the stronger and more established Russian borrowers.

UniCredit’s chief executive, Jean Pierre Mustier, moved fast this week to sell €1bn of stock in FinecoBank, the Italian bank’s online brokerage, after a decision to deconsolidate the unit. Many in the market see UniCredit's accelerating asset sales as an effort to boost its capital position before exploring M&A opportunities in 2020. Aidan Gregory reports.

Headhunter Group, the Russian recruitment software firm, priced a $220m IPO on Wednesday in the first new listing from a Russian issuer since November 2017.

Banks face big decisions over client selection and positioning as Europe’s M&A boom falters, writes David Rothnie

The European Investment Bank is preparing to launch a new entity — potentially called the European Bank for Sustainable Development — that will focus on sustainable projects outside the EU, GlobalCapital understands.

GlobalMarketscan reveal that the European Investment Bank is preparing to launch a new entity — potentially called the European Bank for Sustainable Development — that will focus on sustainable projects outside the EU.

The strength of corporate bond demand, after falls in stockmarkets engendered by the US's hardened stance on trade talks with China, will be tested in the US on Wednesday by a $20bn issue for IBM. In Europe, the test could come on Thursday, since a handful of issuers finished roadshows on Wednesday.

The Co-operative Group, the UK food retailer and provider of funeral, legal and insurance services, launched its first sustainable bond on Wednesday and achieved impressive demand. But that had little to do with its ethical characteristics.

Yapı Kredi Bank signed its spring loan refinancing on Thursday, having wrapped up the deal at $1.03bn. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UniCredit are coordinators of the deal, which has 49 banks participating. The political uncertainty triggered by the decision to re-run the municipal elections in Istanbul has not dented international lenders’ appetite for financing Turkey’s banks.

France and Germany have proposed to extend France’s model for a financial transactions tax (FTT) to all EU countries willing to participate, allocating the revenues to the EU’s budget, according to a Franco-German document seen by GlobalCapital.