Europe

Kommunalbanken made what bankers away from the trade described as an “excellent” choice of tenor with a dollar benchmark on Wednesday as it tightened pricing from guidance — something that not every issuer has been able to achieve in the currency over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, a Japanese issuer mandated for a trade that bankers expect to go well despite geopolitical tensions in Asia.

Spain's BBVA attracted over €5bn of demand and achieved a minimal new issue premium for its first senior non-preferred issuance on Wednesday.

Bank of Russia (CBR) has stepped in to help stricken Otkritie, in what is the first bail-out of a systemically important bank in Russia, and arguably the largest Russian bank failure in history.

Market participants have a lot of work still to do in preparing data and systems for the introduction of MiFID II and MiFIR, and getting the right technology is only part of what they need to do, according to the chief executive of a fintech firm specialising in the area.

Supply-starved investors have been quick to get involved in the first senior bond transactions in euros in nearly a month, with banks leaping back into the market this week following the summer holidays.

News of Otkritie’s bail-out has filled the buy-side with questions about the nature of the Centra Bank of Russia’s recovery plans sending Otkritie’s subordinated bonds yo-yoing between a cash price of 49 and low to mid 80s.

Equity-linked bond issuers are often the most quixotic group among equity capital markets issuers — the market is frequently marked by sudden droughts caused by lack of deals, despite strong market conditions, as happened this spring.

Corporate bond investors in Europe have shrugged off wider market noise surrounding increased tensions in the Korean Peninsula, and are instead focusing on whether they might be able to find any bargains at all in the September round of issuance.

Julius Baer Group is planning to sell its first US dollar-denominated additional tier one (AT1) bond, and will visit Asia and Europe for a roadshow later this week.

Eurex Exchange, the derivatives market owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is to start trading EuroStoxx 50 'market-on-close' (MOC) futures on October 30.

Fastighets AB Balder, the Swedish property manager, began roadshowing for a €350m hybrid bond in euros and Swedish kronor on Tuesday. It may become the second Nordic borrower to issue in an otherwise quiet euro high yield market during the summer break.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) picked up €2bn with a 23 year bond on Tuesday, paving the way for other top-flight borrowers to bring their own euro deals.