Europe

Kommunalbanken will bring a dollar benchmark in a defensive tenor on Wednesday, which a banker on the deal said is the perfect product for investors amid rising geopolitical tensions. The trade also offers an attractive spread over US Treasuries, the banker added, despite a tightening in swap spreads — although other bankers said that tightening meant larger issuers should consider longer dated deals.

Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) benchmark subsidiary is planning to administer the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Silver Price benchmark from September 25, the exchange operator announced on Tuesday.

Credit markets were in defensive mode on Tuesday after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan, though syndicate bankers remain confident that the rest of the short week should see corporate bonds printed.

South African lenders, Investec and Standard Bank’s loans are due to sign this week, along with United Biscuits' acquisition loan, which is expected to close tomorrow.

Spanish builder Neinor Homes will accelerate a land purchase programme after signing a new loan with JP Morgan, it said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) is set to go on the road to promote its third sustainability bond. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten has also unveiled plans to return to SRI this year.

Westpac and UBS issued a combined €4.5bn of senior euro notes on Tuesday, in a test of investor demand after a quiet summer.

Yields on subordinated bonds issued by Otkritie remained at over 40% on Tuesday after rumours of bail-out plans by the Russian Central Bank hit the market on Friday.

Italy’s Banco di Desio e della Brianza picked banks on Tuesday to arrange the sale of its first euro covered bond, in a deal that could kickstart issuance from the European periphery following the summer break.

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Berlin Hyp found different fortunes selling mortgage-backed Pfandbriefe in the belly of the maturity curve on Tuesday, as covered bond issuance looked ready to take off following the summer break.

Banks scrambled this week to trigger credit default swaps on the back of Noble Group’s loan restructuring in June, after the Asian International Swaps and Derivatives Association determinations committee decided to dismiss the issue, a lawyer has told GlobalCapital.

Low-cost telecoms firm Lebara broke a two week silence in the euro high yield market with its first bond.