Europe

For the first time since six eurozone central banks were mandated with buying corporate bonds, the European Central Bank has begun consolidating their data on bond holdings this week, after 15 MEPs demanded greater transparency. But the politicians already have their eyes on the next level of disclosure.

Polish utility company Tauron Polska Energia moved pricing 17bp on Wednesday to raise €500m with a 10 year note, despite a large sell-off in Bunds on Tuesday.

Standard Bank is planning to launch a $750m syndicated loan, and hopes to drum up enough interest to enlarge it to $1.25bn.

Standard Chartered’s head of capital markets solutions Lesi Zuo is leaving the bank for a job in fintech, according to sources.

French media content producer Banijay is funding the acquisition of Castaway Television with its first ever bond. It has scheduled pricing for Friday, rising the tally of potential high yield bond sales above €2bn for this week.

Korian, the French group that provides care homes for the elderly, on Wednesday became one of the very few companies to have issued a convertible bond structured to gain equity credit under IFRS.

DP Eurasia, the owner of the Domino's Pizza franchise in Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, plunged as much as 21% on its debut in London on Wednesday after its £148m IPO, as investors turned skittish.

Three shareholders in French electronics firm Soitec pocketed €124m from an overnight equity block trade on Tuesday, which came on the heels of a 100% rally in the stock since the start of the year.

Daimler and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg have launched on Wednesday the first Schuldschein issue to be sold using blockchain technology.

On Wednesday, Heathrow returned to the euro bond market for the first time for over two years. The UK airport company printed a €500m 15 year deal, following the lead of Daimler and Gecina earlier in the week.

Sanctions on Russia could be tightened following a bill that passed the US Senate nearly unanimously in mid-June, but even though some commentators are sceptical that they will be implemented, VTB head of global banking Riccardo Orcel said that it won't stop the Russian state-controlled bank’s expansion into new markets.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Wednesday announced it could clear over-the-counter FX options, after receiving regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.