Europe

A senior equity-linked debt banker has left RBC Capital Markets.

UK housing associations are regular and popular users of the sterling corporate bond market. Friday saw the first deal of 2019 from the UK’s largest housing association and the deal proved demand had in no way waned.

No emerging markets issuer has yet hit screens this week to capitalise on the exceptional momentum of last week’s market.

On Friday, American data centre owner Digital Realty sold the first green corporate bond in euros of 2019, but investors did not have long to wait for the second one as Italian energy company Enel also chose to issue in the format.

The European Banking Authority is sceptical about HSBC’s decision to re-grant capital treatment to some legacy debt instruments last year, but it is unsure about the leverage it can exert over UK authorities in light of the country’s upcoming departure from the EU.

Euronext on Monday formally launched its offer to buy Norwegian exchange group Oslo Børs VPS, saying it wanted to position the firm as the “key capital markets hub in the Nordic region”.

European and global equities have shown signs of recovery in 2019, but few are predicting a prolonged rally to entice potential capital market issuers.

In this round-up, the renminbi reached its strongest value against the dollar since July, December exports and imports volumes dropped, and trade volumes between China and Russia reached a record high.

The poll is open for GlobalCapital’s Equity Capital Markets Awards for 2018 and we invite market participants to have their say on the best performers of last year.

Danske Bank was set to complete its bond sale on Friday at a slightly higher price, after activist investor Bill Browder forced a delay due to his comments about its money laundering scandal this week. Before the postponement, Danske had drummed up a large amount of support in the dollar market, as UniCredit did earlier in the week.

Abanca decided to bring its tier two bond to the market on Friday, giving the euro market its first bank capital deal of the year. It was able to reach investors before the UK parliament vote on Brexit threatens sentiment next week.

Italy is planning to bring a euro syndication in the 15 year part of the curve later this month, according to market participants.