Europe

The IPO of Zur Rose, the Swiss online pharmacy, is due to be priced at the top of its range, to raise Sfr224m, after the bookbuild finished a day early due to the strength of the demand.

ABN Amro hit the covered bond market on Wednesday for an opportunistic tap of its 20 year, and despite being announced at short notice, the offering drew robust demand.

CaixaBank paid ‘close to zero, if not zero’ premium for a new tier two on Wednesday in the first Spanish subordinated bond issuance since the resolution of Banco Popular.

Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has spelt out its plans to return to stability and profitability, after a long running brush with resolution ended with a ‘precautionary recapitalisation’ by the Italian state this week.

Turkish bank refinancing season ramped up once again after a lull in activity, with ING’s Turkish branch signing a $536m refi on Tuesday — a day after Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi signed a $297m refi.

IHS Markit has announced that callable senior bonds issued by banks and tier three bonds issued by insurance companies will be included within its iBoxx indices, following the introduction of new index layers that account for bail-inable senior bank debt.

Banks may be expected to wane as a source of equity capital markets business - but not yet. Santander's €7bn rights issue is under way, and Banca Carige, long on Italy's sick list, has announced a €500m capital increase.

Gazprom will return to Switzerland next week for roadshows in Geneva and Zurich. And, as retail taste for sub-investment grade credit grows, the bookrunners are confident the Russian gas firm will attract demand.

The long end of euro government bond curves appear to have regained their health once more after a wobble last week when comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi were thought to signal that quantitative easing would end sooner than expected.

The cloudburst of corporate bond issues investors had been expecting during the dry first two business days of July arrived on Wednesday, with a five tranche salvo by Annington Funding, in euros and sterling, plus deals from Kedrion and National Grid.

While the US enjoyed its Independence Day holiday on Tuesday, European corporate bond markets were jump started by AA Bond Co. The UK motoring organisation announced a £250m ($324.33m) no-grow six year deal as part of plans to reduce overall borrowings and associated interest costs.

Empiric Student Property, the London-listed real estate investment trust that owns UK student accommodation, is seeking to raise £150m, in its sixth equity issue since its £85m IPO in June 2014. The deal will also be its largest so far, and its highest priced.