Europe

LBBW, Santander UK and Westpac all enjoyed fair demand for seven year covered bonds issued this week, suggesting good scope for further issuance in this tenor.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten fell victim to a volatile Bund curve and crowded pipeline, falling short of its hopes with its first deal of the year.

The dollar market has been thoroughly supportive of this week’s SSA borrowers, but none more so than Sweden, which pulled in its biggest order book ever for its first deal of 2018.

The Schuldschein pipeline is filling up fast, and German blue chips, mostly absent last year, are considering returning with benchmark deals, bankers said this week. If so, the Schuldschein market will look to add these chunky transactions to a repeat of last year’s heavy deal flow.

Equity syndicates expect a robust IPO pipeline to power strong issuance in the first half of this year, which could set 2018 up to surpass what was a good 2017.

Xafinity, the UK actuarial services company, has completed its first capital increase since its £180m IPO on the London Stock Exchange in February 2017.

IHS Markit on Wednesday announced that Lord Browne of Madingley and Nicoletta Giadrossi have joined as board directors of the company, while its president and COO Lance Uggla became CEO on January 1.

Corporate bond market participants show little sign of caring about the end of European quantitative easing and the danger that presents to their market — which has arguably been the sector most affected by the policy. Nigel Owen reports.

The Schuldschein pipeline is filling up fast, and there are rumours that German blue chips, mostly absent last year, are considering returning with benchmark transactions. If that is the case, the Schuldschein market will look to add these chunky transactions to a repeat of last year’s heavy deal flow.

Westpac and Santander UK returned to the euro covered bond market on Thursday. Though early book momentum was marginally stronger in the Australian deal, the oversubscription ratios for both deals was rather low. Meanwhile, Stadshypotek showed that there is still good scope for further sterling covered bond supply.

UBS raised €4.12bn equivalent of senior debt at operating company level across three tranches and two currencies on Thursday, while ABN Amro looked to tap its June 2022 sterling senior bond.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena has picked banks to arrange a new tier two transaction — its first bond offering since being recapitalised by the Italian state in July 2017.