Europe

Eurex's Repo Partnership Programme, which it started on February 1, appears to be bearing fruit. The average volume of financing in the exchange's repo markets segment in March was 23% higher than a year ago.

The mania surrounding the UK’s exit from the European Union is reaching fever pitch but the City has ploughed on during the last three months, despite the appalling leadership shown by the UK’s leading politicians.

Elis, the French workwear and laundry group, took advantage of a corporate bond market eager for yieldy paper on Tuesday by issuing a €500m five year high yield bond that found a friendly reception.

Public sector borrowers were able to achieve zero or negative new issue premiums and close books early in the euro market on Tuesday as investors piled into haven assets amid a weaker outlook for global growth.

A strong Swedish market led the City of Stockholm to place its first private trade of the year on Monday. The Skr2.5bn ($268.4m) note was its largest non-syndicated issue since 2012.

A recent resurgence in Russian ECM has gathered pace with the announcement of two IPOs in London and the US, as oligarchs seize the opportunity of a better equity window. Rustranscom (RTC), the Russian freight transportation company, joined this wave after it filed paperwork for a London listing of global depository receipts on Monday evening.

The London Stock Exchange Group’s director of capital markets, Raffaele Jerusalmi, will leave that position, but remain as CEO of Borsa Italiana.

Société Générale has appointed a new group country head for Russia, replacing Didier Hauguel, who is stepping down to focus on charity work.

Leeds Building Society showed genuine leadership on Tuesday with its first Sonia-linked covered bond, a deal that was priced tightly with a well subscribed order book. Its stance stood in contrast to UK Parliamentarians, who dithered on a series of indicative votes on alternative Brexit strategies that were held on Monday night.

The final text of the Covered Bond Directive offers the opportunity for issuers and regulators to secure covered bonds by a wider range of assets than currently permitted. Bankers said on Tuesday that the wording strikes a good balance that provides flexibility for innovation while also protecting the product’s credit quality.

Medacta, the Swiss maker of orthopaedic devices, has covered its Sfr550m IPO within the revised price range on the penultimate day of the bookbuild, according to a banker involved in the deal.

Volksbank Wien placed its debut additional tier one deal on Tuesday, becoming the latest financial institution to revisit a transaction that was first floated in late 2018.