Europe

Public sector borrowers tore $10bn of funding from the dollar market on Tuesday, shaving several basis points from initial price thoughts in the process. Only one benchmark is on screens for Wednesday, but SSA bankers expect next week’s run-up to the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on January 20 will be — in Trump terminology — “huge”.

Phoenix Group Holdings Capital will look to sell the third ever tier three bond and the first in sterling, having mandated banks to arrange a London roadshow for a new issue this week.

Foncière des Régions, the French property company, has achieved a covered book for its €348m capital increase to finance the acquisition of a portfolio of 19 Spanish hotels through its subsidiary Foncière des Murs.

The belly of the curve appears to be the favoured spot in euros, with the European Financial Stability Facility selling a €3bn November 2022 and Agence Française de Développement announcing that it intends to bring an April 2022 on Wednesday. Further out in the curve, the market is proving less supportive.

The treasury team at BASF, the German chemicals producer, kept up a high level of capital markets activity on Tuesday as it targeted a debut transaction in the Eurodollar market.

Portugal will kick off its funding year with a 10 year euro benchmark, mandating for the deal on Tuesday shortly after announcing its bond issuance target for 2017.

Arle Capital Partners has sold its remaining stake in Technogym, the Italian fitness equipment maker founded by Nerio Alessandri, for €100m, through an accelerated bookbuild that was covered in half an hour.

Everyone in debt capital markets has heard of green bonds, and most in the financial world accept that sustainability and greenness are Good Things. But for all the grand commitments and PR initiatives, understanding of the issues is still as hazy as a Beijing smog.

Spanish telecoms provider Telefónica hit the euro market on Tuesday for a dual tranche offering that tested the outer limit of investors’ appetite for long tenors.

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has issued a consultation paper on the fees that will be payable after the introduction of ISIN numbers for over-the-counter derivatives.

After spending 2016 away from the high yield market, UK premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover returned on Tuesday to add euros to its all sterling and dollar debt.

Primary activity in the European leveraged loans market is off to a stuttering start this year, with only a few small deals launched and larger borrowers either yet to appear or set to forego the market.