Europe

KfW has appointed a senior funding manager to its new issues team in Frankfurt, with responsibility for sterling and dollar deals.

A number of funds that shorted UK construction and services firm Kier Group have begun to shrink those positions, and the share price has soared since.

The Slovenian government is out with a 10 year euro bond issue on Monday, which will be priced later today. Bankers away from the deal say the highly rated issuer is a good soft test of investor appetite for CEEMEA debt.

The number of IPOs on the London Stock Exchange is likely to remain subdued in 2019 due to a deceleration of global growth and the uncertainty of Brexit, meaning activity is likely going to be pushed back beyond the UK's exit from the European Union in March according to a report by EY.

In this round-up, People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 100bp, Shanghai-London Stock Connect likely postponed to late January, and Li Keqiang encourages big commercial banks to support the private sector.

A member of the supervisory board of the European Central Bank has hit out at European member states for failing to introduce countercyclical buffer rates for banks during this economic cycle.

Banks are courting France’s Vinci to grab lending spots on the company’s £2.9bn acquisition of a controlling stake in UK airport Gatwick. A bond issue from Vinci is possible in the first half of this year.

Danske Bank is looking to issue a senior non-preferred bond, giving primary market investors a chance to judge the institution after developments in a money laundering scandal have raised the prospect of it receiving a large fine from US authorities. Danske follows BNP Paribas, which paid up to print a new deal on Thursday.

The board of Oslo Børs VPS Holding, the Norwegian exchange group, on Friday said that it would consider alternative bids to acquire it, after Euronext outlined terms for a potential acquisition.

Bank of Nova Scotia and BayernLB found good demand for their covered bonds issued in the belly of the curve on Friday, but UniCredit AG (HVB) experienced a more challenging sales process for its 10 year Pfandbrief. Crédit Agricole will be hoping for a better reception when it issues a 10 year next week.

Turkey is on track to continue its recovery in financial markets, as inflation declines and the lira rebounds from its crisis of August, according to syndicated loan bankers.

Electricité de France, the Paris-based electricity company, raised a Rmb122m ($17.8m) one year bilateral loan through Crédit Agricole CIB (China) on December 20.