Europe

The heads of Gemini, the digital asset exchange, have put forward a proposal for cryptocurrency spot markets to regulate themselves, and appear to have gained approval from a top derivatives regulator.

Gazprom opened books on an eight year euro transaction on Wednesday, having recently regained three investment grade ratings for the first time in several years.

The preference share market has plummeted in value after Aviva told investors it might seek to cancel its instruments at par.

Hungary has priced its first Japanese yen deal in over a decade, achieving its lowest ever funding cost, as its love affair with Asian currencies for diversification continues.

The IPO of Siemens Healthineers, the healthcare technology division of Siemens, is covered throughout its revised price range, according to a banker involved in the transaction.

The IPO market in Europe has turned a corner after a difficult start to the year, mainly because issuers are being “sensible and conservative” on valuation, in the words of one syndicate banker in London.

January and February, particularly the latter, were quiet months for corporate bond new issuance in Europe. However, March is lining up to be the busiest month of 2018 so far in both investment grade and high yield markets, and that is starting to worry investors.

Tikehau Capital, the French alternative investment manager, has committed a €250m order for the IPO of DWS Group and has initiated discussions on potential cooperation between the two firms, including on alternative asset management distribution.

UK-based 3i Group has added three people to its office in Amsterdam and one in New York, all in its private equity team, as it plans to boost business in its core markets.

Public sector borrowers found buckets of dollar demand on Tuesday, as a French agency sold its largest ever benchmark in the currency and a supranational printed a trade at the upper end of its historical size range. Another supra is lined up to test whether that demand will hold on Wednesday.

The eagerly awaited European 'Covered Bond Directive' was supposed to ring-fence the quality of covered bonds by clearly defining the assets that are eligible for the cover pool. But the proposal risks diluting the quality of the product.

B&S Group, the Dutch consumer goods distribution specialist, has opened the books for its listing on the Amsterdam stock exchange, the second Dutch company to set a price range for its IPO this week.