Europe

Akbank navigated a tricky market on Wednesday to print a $500m no-grow tier two and managed to charm a higher proportion of US investors than previously seen in any Turkish capital bond, according to a banker on the deal.

International borrowers made good use of sterling this week, finding value in the market despite risks around the UK budget and the government's intention to trigger Article 50 later in the month.

Investors are bracing themselves for another wave of corporate deals next week after the European Central Bank (ECB) stuck to analyst expectations on Thursday, leaving its monetary policies unchanged.

Nomura has reshaped the management team of its wholesale division, which includes investment banking and markets. Former co-head of wholesale Kentaro Okuda will become regional head for Americas, while Minoru Shinohara, executive chairman in EMEA, becomes co-head of wholesale, relocating from London to Tokyo.

NEX Group on Thursday launched an end-to-end reporting platform that will help clients navigate Europe's emerging regulatory landscape.

Russia supply looks set to continue next week following the announcement by Gazprom of plans for a long-awaited return to the dollar market and the start of yet another liability management exercise from Evraz.

Four new IPOs were announced in Europe this week, as the market enters a crucial window in the run-up to Easter. Bankers are confident there is strong demand from equity investors for new issues, but there are also considerable risks on the horizon, including the French and Dutch elections, writes Aidan Gregory.

RAG-Stiftung, the German state-backed foundation set up in 2007 to support the discontinuation of the country’s coal mines, tapped the equity-linked market for a third time on Thursday with a €525m note exchangeable into shares in Evonik Industries, the German speciality chemicals company.

Primary markets for financial borrowers cooled this week as secondary spreads widened, ending a stellar run of new issues and leaving borrowers apprehensive ahead of a packed calendar of potentially market-moving events.

While Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting brought little in the way of material changes, the SSA market is watching closely, expecting a tightening of eurozone monetary policy. Meanwhile, the Joint Laender launched a euro seven year benchmark.

Investors are bracing themselves for another wave of corporate deals next week after the European Central Bank stuck to analyst expectations on Thursday, leaving its monetary policies unchanged.

Turkish lender Vakifbank is on a roll in the loan market this week, out with a bilateral facility and a syndicated deal.