Europe

Portugueuse lender Caixa Económica Montepio Geral is looking to issue a small tier two bond, amid tricky market conditions.

Cinema operator Vue International cancelled its £833m-equivalent leveraged loan offering amid increasing investor aversion to sterling risk, as the UK government and Parliament descended into a full-blown clash over the conditions for separation from the European Union.

Almirall, the Spanish pharmaceuticals company, has issued its first convertible bond with an equity-neutral structure, having attracted “strong outright demand” from institutional investors, according to a banker on the deal.

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday seemed to side with the Bank of England in demanding more clarity from European authorities on how they plan to alleviate post-Brexit derivatives disruption.

Investment grade loans bankers are still looking to thrash out up to 10 deals before Christmas, with two transactions in syndication now making up €7bn of business.

On Tuesday the European Parliament and Council announced the basis for a final agreement on the banking package. This involves crucial details on banks’ capital and funding rules, such as on retail holdings of bail-in debt, distributions on regulatory bonds and stakes in insurance companies.

Covered bond spreads are likely to widen further into the start of 2019, but that will serve to make them more attractive to investors, especially relative to sovereign and agency alternatives. And since investors will have a slew of cash to put to work, it seems likely it will encourage buying.

The first green bond from a Slovenian borrower came to market this week. SID Bank will use the proceeds for green mortgages and financing low carbon aircraft.

The breakdown of trust in ISDAfix following allegations of collusion and manipulation in 2012 led to a complete overhaul of the benchmark. A recent report by the Financial Conduct Authority proves that the hard work is paying off, reaffirming the potential for the model to be applied to other benchmarks.

At least three high-grade borrowers in the US bond market stood down on Thursday as supply windows snapped shut and scotched hopes of a final flurry of supply before year end.

German business software company SAP used its rarity value when it printed a €1.5bn triple tranche deal in March. However, that strategy may no longer be possible, after it sold the largest ever corporate bond priced in December to help fund its recently announced €8bn cash acquisition of experience management software provider Qualtrics.

Mizuho International, the London securities and investment banking arm of the Japanese banking group, has cut jobs in its capital markets business over the past week, and among those leaving is a senior DCM banker.