Europe

UBS delivered a 24% return on equity in its investment bank for the first quarter — without the aid of the flattering equity attribution model analysts have criticised in the past. The bank revamped equity attribution this year so that corporate centre does less of the heavy lifting, meaning a 26% increase in equity attributed to the investment bank.

VolkerWessels, the Dutch construction company controlled by the Wessels family, has opened the books for its Amsterdam IPO, which could value the business at up to €2bn.

Croatian oil company Industrija Nafte, INA, has managed to prolong a $300m revolving credit facility by a year despite the default of the country’s largest private company, Agrokor.

Pirelli, the Italian tyre maker owned by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), is pressing ahead with its plan to relist earlier than expected, due to favourable market dynamics.

After rallying hard over the past week covered bond spreads have begun to stabilise, especially in France where Credit Agricole’s well-performing €1.5bn 10 year helped sate appetite. Traders reported bigger price dislocations in the peripheral covered bond market.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark as of Thursday's close. The source for secondary trading levels is Interactive Data.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK lender, rose 5% on Friday after it reported its first quarterly profit for more than a year.

Spain’s Banco de Sabadell is gearing up to sell its first additional tier one (AT1) in the euro market and participants expect the result will be very well received by the product’s investor base.

Front and centre in a humming high yield bond market this week was Netflix, the US streaming service, which came to euros for the first time with a €1bn 10 year, dividing some investors on whether it was an attractive deal.

Chinese president Xi Jinping orders authorities to take action to prevent financial risk, Volkswagen Financial Services’ China arm issues its second renminbi-denominated bond, and the UK reaffirms its status as the biggest centre for RMB FX trading.

A $120.6m borrowing to support an acquisition by Indian company Tata AutoComp Systems was signed this week, with 16 lenders joining the two mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is set to engage with fixed income accounts in Singapore for a potential Basel III tier two offering.