Europe

Suomen Hypoteekkiyhdistys (Hypo) and Bank of New Zealand have announced marketing programmes ahead of expected covered bond deals.

The rise of Barclays and HSBC in UK investment banking, against a backdrop of falling fees and political uncertainty, puts further pressure on an already crowded market and the squeeze will only get worse, argues David Rothnie.

NRW.Bank doubled its initial size target with a two year floating rate note on Thursday, with the strength of demand partly due to investors looking for floating rate paper ahead of an expected target rate rise by the US Federal Reserve next week, according to one of the leads.

Car maker Volkswagen sold investors a €3.5bn hybrid deal on Wednesday, allowing the company to exploit two niches that investors have been clamouring for all year, despite the emissions scandal still hanging over the company.

The cottage industry of firms providing European high yield fund managers with digital bond terms databases is growing. Street Dilligence has joined DebtExplain, Dealogic and CreditSights. Each aims to make investors wiser and better able to make quick investment decisions. High yield bankers have predictably been less enthusiastic about their rise, even though the firms claim there are benefits for them, too.

B. Braun sold the tightest corporate six year loan in Schuldschein history this week. And more, the German medical firm more than doubled the €150m initial target. But, some Schuldschein bankers believe German issuers have reached the market's pricing floor.

ICG has agreed to buy PAI Partners’ controlling stake in DomusVi, following a string of acquisitions at the nursing home operator.

Michigan’s Superior Industries International met a hesitant European high yield bond market on Monday, as it began offering its debut bond to fund its acquisition of German peer Uniwheels.

The resolution and sale of Spain's Banco Popular showed one way in which regulators can deal with a failing bank, but it may prove more difficult to find a solution for struggling banks in Italy.

Skipton Building Society is looking to diversify its wholesale funding, and is expected to issue covered bonds and senior debt.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has factored the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 9) into its draft methodology for the 2018 stress test, as market participants debate the effectiveness of stress testing following the resolution of Spain’s Banco Popular.

Turkey took €2.5bn of orders for its new euro trade on Wednesday, which bankers said was a strong showing despite the fact that market volatility and Turkey’s involvement in the Qatar crisis meant that the issuer did not print at the tight end of guidance.