Europe

Equity block trading began smartly on Monday evening after Emmanuel Macron generated relief across markets by winning the French presidency on Sunday. Goldman Sachs brought two trades for its own private equity arm.

Swiss-French building company LafargeHolcim is marketing its first bond since it was engulfed in a scandal over its operations in Syria, which has already seen the company’s CEO step down in the last month.

KfW is set to bring its first green bond in euros in nearly a year, with the deal coming amid a flurry of conventional trades in the currency. KommuneKredit is also in the SRI pipeline, after running a roadshow to introduce its green bond framework.

Hospital operator Ameos has scheduled a bank meeting for Wednesday morning for a €510m loan refinancing, as banks scramble for deals.

Three public sector borrowers hit screens on Monday, mandating in a euro market buoyed by the defeat of National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French presidential election on Sunday.

Legislators in the Czech Republic and Austria are in the process of updating their covered bond laws and Lithuania has set out its intention to introduce a framework.

Alfa Financial Software Holdings, the UK financial software company, has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.

BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole have hired new head traders for their high yield bond business, according to sources on Monday.

Compagnie de Financment Foncier (CFF) has mandated leads for a five year covered bond, taking advantage of positive sentiment that has followed French presidential elections.

The pipeline for new deals in the euro high yield bond market appeared all but empty this week, but bankers said Sunday’s French presidential election win for Emmanuel Macron would stoke a surge of offerings.

US Bancorp picked Barclays to arrange a roadshow for its first euro-denominated senior trade on Monday, as attractive pricing levels attract US issuers to the currency.

The Bank of England has published data on the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), and analysts said that UK firms will have little difficulty complying with the rules by 2022.