Europe

Natixis will soon embark on an experiment that may be the first of its kind — introducing a green weighting factor to its internal economic capital model, to tilt incentives for its bankers in favour of green loans and away from ‘brown’ ones.

BlackRock has closed its first private debt fund dedicated to the European middle market, as the asset manager predicts private debt will be increasingly "significant" in the way mid-cap companies are financed.

Future Plc, the UK magazine publisher, plans to raise £105m via a fully underwritten rights issue to fund its takeover of Purch, the US technology and science magazine publisher.

LCH RepoClear has raised its margin on several Italian government debt securities, but the market reaction has so far been muted, according to analysts.

The deal pipeline is growing heavier in the European leveraged finance markets, as borrowers adjust to wider yet not prohibitive pricing. But buyers of speculative grade debt also have their eyes on stronger documentation.

Banco Popolare di Milano (BPM) attracted a bit more demand for a covered bond it issued this week than the previous two Italian deals, as the relative value compared to Italian government bonds was more attractive.

Investec Bank priced a new bond on Tuesday. It is the second bank in the past few weeks to execute a tender at the same time as issuing new tier two notes.

Despite the outstanding performance of recent IPOs investors are still expecting to be wooed with significant discounts for new listings once the market kicks off again after the summer.

After a tough run for issuers, the euro corporate bond market appears to have headed for its summer holiday early this year. The sterling market, however, kept investors busy last week, and the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meeting in August is being closely watched.

German banks could be slow to get going with issuing preferred senior debt despite the fact that they are regaining access to the tool from next week. Issuers will have to get to a hold on how pricing for the new notes will compare with other asset classes.

Post-trade infrastructure company Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on Wednesday announced that it would open a new office in Dublin in an effort to sidestep uncertainties stemming from Brexit.

Jonathan Bock, who previously held the role of managing director and senior equity analyst at Wells Fargo, will become a managing director on Barings’ global private finance platform.