Europe

Any thoughts that the euro market might still be in holiday mode this week were laid to rest by banks piling on top of one another to rack up close to €10bn of new issuance. The unseasonable flow of supply has been as much about making the most of favourable conditions as avoiding an unprecedented cocktail of risks in the second half of 2018. Tyler Davies reports.

Intesa Sanpaolo issued a €1bn senior bond on Thursday as it looked to get ahead of other banks, while its main competitor, UniCredit, considers doing more this year.

With interest rates expected to rise, the ability to offer delayed funding on attractive terms is becoming more important for investors in sterling US private placements (PPs). Some are struggling to get into deals as they cannot compete with their rivals’ terms, writes Silas Brown.

National Australia Bank issued €2bn of new senior conventional and green notes on Wednesday with a simultaneous tender for existing short-dated debt that could inspire other banks in the euro market looking to make their maturity profiles more efficient.

Equity strategists at a bulge bracket bank are foreseeing volatility in Bayer’s share price around the time its €4bn mandatorily convertible bond matures next year, particularly because of its legal problems over a Monsanto weedkiller, and are pitching clients a strategy to profit from this, writes Costas Mourselas.

It has been a dreadful August in emerging markets, but borrowers still have cash to raise and, despite the violent swings in secondary market levels, investors will have cash to put to work when the UK bank holiday has passed.

Berlin Hyp, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank used this week’s supply window to launch the first three preferred senior deals out of Germany, which has only just legislated for issuance in the asset class.

Baumarkt, the German DIY retailer, has launched a Schuldschein via Debtvision, LBBW’s digital platform.

Lenders working on Turkish bank syndicated loans say deals are still going ahead, and any suggestion that the country’s woes have postponed the active deals are just rumours.

Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday that it had signed a sale and leaseback agreement with Korea’s National Pension Service on its new European headquarters, under construction around the corner from the bank’s existing London offices on Fleet Street.

The UK’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit published this week include a proposal to strip away preferential capital treatment for EU27 exposures — meaning a hit to UK bank capital ratios at the worst time imaginable.

Cable company Comcast has given Sky shareholders longer to respond to its debt funded acquisition offer, after a negligible acceptance rate at the original deadline.