Europe

New corporate bonds found plenty of demand again on Wednesday with Apple’s dual tranche transaction attracting more than €5bn of orders, but signs of strain are beginning to show as new issue premiums look to be creeping up across the market.

Spain’s BBVA priced €500m of additional tier one paper with the lowest coupon of any southern European issuer this week, following its compatriots Banco de Sabadell and Santander in taking advantage of healthy appetite for the product.

State-owned Russian transport leasing firm State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) will meet investors for its second dollar bond from Friday.

There has been an explosion of equity block trades in Europe this week, led by a sovereign wealth fund, plus several new capital deals. The IPO market is also busy, with several new deals launched.

The SSA market has played host to a series of strong deals this week and shows no signs of fatigue, as investors flock to make the most of the glut of supply.

Commerzbank and KBC were looking to sell new senior unsecured bonds in a less enthusiastic primary market on Wednesday, after banks credit spreads started widening following the recent mass of supply.

Garanti Bank on Tuesday raised $750m with the tightest priced Turkish tier two on record which was testament to the level of comfort investors now have with the product, according to bankers leading the transaction who conceded that the global credit rally had also helped.

The European corporate bond market is again packed to bursting on Wednesday, with six new issues, among which Apple is likely to be one of the most sought after names. This week is building up to a huge total, as LVMH has already raised €4.5bn and Anheuser-Busch InBev £2.25bn.

Emerging markets bond bankers can think of nothing to derail the ongoing bull-run and while this might point to hubris, this week’s trades have given no indication of fatigue.

Euronav, the unrated Belgian oil tanker group, made its debut in the bond market on Tuesday after a second consecutive year of profits in a declining industry.

After selling Sfr1.5bn of UBS shares on Monday night, GIC, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, returned with another equity block trade on Tuesday – this time to sell a stake in Straumann Holding, the Swiss maker of dental implants.

CVC has launched the first ever block trade in Ahlsell, the Swedish wholesaler of plumbing and electrical installation products that floated in Stockholm in October 2016.