Europe

KfW printed a €1bn tap of a July 2022 line on Wednesday, sneaking in a deal ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

The Province of Alberta on Wednesday passed its first bond market test since suffering a double downgrade from S&P in May. Bankers away from the trade said it was a “good outcome”, despite having to pay a bit of concession — unlike most other dollar deals over the last few weeks.

BC Partners has agreed to buy German cloud technology firm PlusServer from US internet group GoDaddy, mandating Société Générale with an all senior loan package due in early September.

Market participants await this Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting for clues on a tapering of asset purchases, which has in fact already begun in covered bonds. But for now, spreads remain tight.

BNP Paribas has hired a senior EM credit trader to join its emerging markets trading desk.

UK health retailer Holland & Barrett has launched £900m-equivalent of loans backing its £1.77bn buyout by L1 Retail, the consumer focused arm of holding company LetterOne, founded by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.

Three more Turkish banks have come to the market to refinance loans from 2016, marking the second wave of refi deals to come out of the region this year.

Poland’s PKO Bank offered IG investors a healthy pick-up to the Polish sovereign curve with its new four year note on Tuesday.

Equity capital markets in Europe are beginning to wind down for the summer break, with just a handful of live deals left.

In what bankers expect to be the last big week for corporate bond issuance in Europe before the summer, demand for deals — especially triple-B paper — is rampant.

Hong Kong-listed China Resources Land is returning to the Panda market on July 21 after a year-long absence. The company, which is hoping to raise Rmb5bn ($741m), will be the second red chip real estate issuer in two days to price a dual-tranche Panda deal.

The Saudi Aramco flotation will be one of the big ethical battles of next year in financial markets. Skirmishes have already begun, with the UK regulator’s bid to ease listing rules to attract Aramco and its like. UK investors should take a stand.