Europe

The UK’s Ashtead has ramped up the size of its bank facility to $4.1bn, as amend and extend operations continue unabated after the Christmas break.

ABN Amro and LBBW issued perfectly respectable, though uninspiring, euro covered bond trades on Thursday, deals that stood in contrast to a heroic deal from Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Equity block trade bankers in EMEA are girding themselves for a tough 2019, in which market conditions could be at least as difficult as the tricky ones they dealt with in 2018.

Secondary spreads in the euro public sector market have widened ahead of an expected flurry of benchmark issuance next week, with several issuers set to tap the market, according to SSA bankers.

Turkey’s inflation fell for the second month running in December, prompting some analysts to predict that the central bank will cut the main interest rate in January, much to the concern of syndicate bankers.

The European corporate bond market had to wait just one day for the first new issue of 2019. Some participants had expected volatility in the global financial markets to result in a blank first week for corporates, but finance subsidiaries of Renault and Toyota opted to start their financing for the year on Thursday.

Poor market conditions at the start of 2019 could leave investors facing a long wait for new subordinated bank bond supply in euros, adding to a month without any issuance in the sector.

The European Central Bank is giving Banca Carige yet more time to boost its capital. If the lender cannot turn itself around, authorities will regret dithering while the private sector walked away.

Two troubled Spanish high yield credits, supermarket firm Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación (Dia) and energy group Abengoa, have started the year with new schemes to reassure investors. More Spanish companies may want to follow suit, sources said, as the country faces a surge in political risk in 2019.

Schuldschein players are not expecting much deal flow this week but most are optimistic that the market is in a better shape than others. A busier first quarter is expected as a consequence.

LBBW decided against competing for investors' attention with Commerzbank on Wednesday and has opted to give investors time before opening order books for its first covered bond of the year on Thursday.

Nomura has hired Tom Lowe to cover financial institutions in the UK and Ireland.