Europe

Akbank is taking the lead as usual in the spring round of Turkish bank refinancings. It has launched a loan to refinance the $1.2bn loan it took out in March last year. Pricing is set to compress further as lenders remain positive about Turkey, despite its recent invasion of Syria.

Endeavour Mining, the Toronto-listed, UK-headquartered gold exploration company active in west Africa, has raised $300m to refinance debt with a debut five year convertible bond issue that was well subscribed, according to several sources close to the deal.

The euro market is taking a breather as a frenetic January draws to a close. But one borrower hit screens and launched a deal on Wednesday, while the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) sent out a request for proposals for next week.

Luxury goods group Compagnie Financière Richemont has entered into a backstop loan agreement as part of its all-cash bid for the rest of internet retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) that it does not already own.

El Corte Inglés, Europe’s largest department store group, has agreed a debt refinancing of up to €3.65bn and negotiated better terms, even as bankers fret about how loose lending conditions are becoming.

Volatility on the S&P 500 has surged to its highest point since last August as the US blue-chip index briefly halted its climb upwards this week.

Iberdrola, the Spanish electricity company, has amended and extended €5.3bn-equivalent of green loans, in what it claims is the largest sustainable finance transaction ever. It has locked in its best bank facility terms for more than a decade.

Covered bonds issued this week undermine the assumption that peripheral markets are likely to be more vulnerable to a spread widening when the European Central Bank cuts net purchases to zero under the covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3).

Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale (Helaba) and Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw have mandated leads for Pfandbrief transactions to be launched on Thursday.

The London Stock Exchange’s Order book for Retail Bonds (ORB) opened the year with a $180m issue from Burford Capital, the litigation finance firm.

Credit Suisse has let go of a managing director in debt capital markets.

Nordea Bank issued a four year floating rate deal on Wednesday, in the first unsecured trade from a Swedish bank since the country’s regulator laid out institutions’ needs for the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).