Europe

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the latest Japanese bank to market a green bond in euros, with a five year senior trade. Proceeds are earmarked for renewable energy projects.

Banks tried to prevent a repeat of 2016 year-end collateral market chaos but trading choked on huge spreads again. And this time, it was for a reason unexpected: Trump.

The European Securities and Markets Authority on Thursday kept up the pressure on providers of complex retail derivatives products by announcing a short consultation on crack-down measures, including a potential ban on cryptocurrency contracts for difference.

UK issuers propose to include their covered bond programmes within their ring-fenced entities, which is positive for their credit quality, said Moody’s.

German property firm Aroundtown became the first issuer from its sector to raise Swiss franc debt not driven by reverse enquiry.

Cineworld, one of the biggest cinema operators in the UK, has set the terms for a £1.7bn rights issue to finance its reverse takeover of Regal Entertainment, a US peer.

Leveraged loans have dominated leveraged buyout financing in recent months, but high yield bonds could be poised for a comeback, say European investors. Crown Holdings, the US can maker, added to early signs of optimism with its new €1.5bn cross-border bond offering this week, writes Victor Jimenez.

Reverse enquiries led to two large share sales over the last week, with one of the blocks executed as a pure club transaction without the need for an accelerated bookbuild at all.

The finance ministry in Luxembourg has published a draft covered bond law to finance renewable energy infrastructure loans. But there could be limited demand to use the framework, and much depends on new European rules coming later this year.

Belfius announced a mandate for its first additional tier one (AT1) note on Thursday, the day after Raiffeisen Bank International picked up more than €4.2bn of demand for the first deal in the format in 2018.

The Loan Market Association is consulting with US private placement investors about creating European PP documentation that is more similar to what they are used to — in the hope that the lenders will be more drawn to European companies as a consequence.

Fibabanka began marketing its revived five year bond at 6.25% area on Thursday.