Europe

In the latest signs of ill health among banks, which have experienced a rough ride in capital markets this year, UBS analysts on Tuesday named BBVA, Svenska Handelsbanken and Standard Chartered as their least preferred names in a sector that is now cheaper than every other, apart from autos, after a damaging earnings season.

Solihull-headquartered infrastructure product manufacturer Hill & Smith has refinanced its £210m revolving credit facility, extending the maturity by two years.

Deutsche Bank has hired Thomas Piquemal, the former senior vice-president for finance at EDF Group, as its global head of M&A and chairman of the corporate and investment bank (CIB) in France.

Maisons du Monde, the French furniture retailer, launched its IPO bookbuild on Monday, with UK, Dutch and South African companies as the main comparable stocks. On Thursday, the leads said the deal was covered.

The IPO of Philips Lighting, though smaller than some bankers had expected, has got off to a good start, achieving coverage on Tuesday night, after the bookbuild began on Monday.

After recently issuing its debut RMBS, TSB Bank, the UK bank that was spun off from Lloyds, has filed vehicles suggesting it will turn to covered bonds.

Motorpoint, the UK car supermarket group, enjoyed two days of strong share price gains after completing its £100m ($146.17m) London IPO on Friday, and has since settled at that level.

English rugby club Harlequins on Monday gave investors two more weeks to buy into its new minibond issue, an unlisted, non-tradable note.

A credit event auction to settle Norske Skog credit default swaps is being delayed because ISDA’s EMEA Determinations Committee has been unable to source an intercreditor agreement.

Instituto de Crédito Oficial has sold what some bankers believe may be the first negatively yielding bond from a Spanish issuer.

Philips, the Dutch household electronics firm, has agreed about €1.7bn of loans for its Philips Lighting unit, giving the subsidiary access to standalone funding as it prepares for a public listing.

Hungary still plans to issue renminbi debt in Panda bond format as well as a euro-denominated note following its successful placement of a dim sum note last month, György Barcza, CEO of AKK, Hungary’s debt management office, told GlobalCapital.