Europe

The Kingdom of Norway’s debut bond syndication, priced on Thursday last week, does not herald the Scandinavian country’s turn to the green bond market, despite widespread hopes on the socially responsible investment (SRI) scene that the country could expand the tiny pool of sovereign green issuers.

Bookrunners revealed more than €3bn of new speculative grade deals from seven issuers in the European high yield market this week. Coupons are slowly widening in the primary market, but they are still hitting issuers’ pricing targets, said market participants.

A flash of public sector SRI bond issuance last week heated up on Monday, as Nederlandse Waterschapsbank found a strong reception for an affordable housing bond and Nordic Investment Bank prepared an environmental offering in a tenor that bankers said was attracting strong demand.

Europe needs to be pragmatic in its Brexit negotiations, as the continent’s ability to compete and its prospects for building a capital markets union (CMU) hang in the balance, said several Europe-based bank chiefs at the CityWeek conference this week.

Credit Mutuel CIC issued the widest 10 year French covered bond of this year on Monday, reflecting higher net supply in 2018 compared with previous years and less central bank buying activity. But with net supply set to fall, spreads should soon stabilise.

Capita, the UK outsourcing company, launched its £701m ($976.13m) rights issue before the market opened on Monday, in a bid to turn its fortunes around and de-lever its balance sheet.

BBVA has announced a framework for three different types of sustainable bonds, amid a wave of interest in green bond issuance by European banks. A transaction would be the first unsecured sustainable bond from a Spanish bank.

On Monday, Dutch car leasing company LeasePlan added a €500m fixed rate bond to its 2018 issuance tally, but found more limited demand than its previous deals.

Two corporate issuers are meeting investors for euro denominated bonds this week as the corporate funding season gathers pace.

Sparebanken Sør is expected to open books on a three year FRN on Tuesday, ahead of what could be a quieter period for the FIG primary market in the next two weeks.

Prominent German member of the European Parliament, Markus Ferber, has put down suggestions that European regulators should be granted powers to temporarily exempt market participants from regulations.

CEVA Logistics, the Swiss freight management and contract logistics company, has set the range on its IPO, valuing it at Sfr1.5bn to Sfr1.8bn. It has also secured a cornerstone investment from shipping company CMA-CGM.