Europe

Primary and secondary equity capital market investors will hope that Facebook's nightmare week is an aberration rather than an indication that tech growth is under pressure. A combination of earnings woe for other tech firms and an escalation in the trade war between US and the rest could hamper issuers' chances, writes Sam Kerr.

Värde Partners plans to fund the acquisition of Spanish consumer credit bank WiZink with payment in kind (PIK) notes, a type of high yield issuance that borrowers have barely used in the last 18 months.

Italian companies are enjoying some time in the loan market sun this week, with facilities for Amplifon, Tecnimont and Tages Helios finding solid support from lenders.

Caius Capital will wait until the European Banking Authority has completed a review of legacy capital instruments before proceeding with its case that UniCredit’s convertible and subordinated hybrid equity-linked securities (Cashes) are receiving the wrong regulatory treatment. This is because it believes the Cashes are included in that review, writes Jasper Cox.

Hearing aid company Amplifon will buy Spain’s GAES Group in a fully debt-funded acquisition with a €528m enterprise value as Italian companies extend their strong run in the loan market.

With €95bn issued so far this year, covered bond supply has exceeded expectations. Several analysts now suggest spreads will widen with issuance for 2018 set to reach at least €130bn.

Czech firm EP Infrastructure has signed a €1.5bn syndicated loan that was subject to heavy scale-backs, after lenders offered the energy infrastructure company double the amount it was looking for.

HSBC has appointed Gareth Thomas as head of global banking for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. He starts in the new job in September.

Nationwide Building Society paid a slim premium for $1bn of non-preferred senior bonds in callable format this week, as bankers tipped the dollar market as being open for business this summer.

France may be top of the world in football but the country’s equity capital market is starting to look a bit second division.

Greece is not likely to join the European Central Bank’s Public Sector Purchase Programme after it exits its bailout programme, according to a senior rates strategist.

The European Banking Authority’s final report on European Secured Notes (ESNs) was published on Tuesday. It should pave the way for the European Commission to consider setting up a legal framework for the product, which may emerge at the same time as the covered bond directive in February 2019.