Europe

LBBW, OP Mortgage Bank and The Mortgage Bank of Finland took little time to sell their benchmark euro deals as, despite the relatively meagre yields on offer, the bonds offered a substantial spreads compared to negative yielding German government bonds.

Banca Popolare di Vicenza has been refused a listing on the Milan stock exchange after its IPO failed to attract sufficient private demand, leaving Fondo Atlante to underwrite the entire capital raise and sending Italian bank shares tumbling on Tuesday.

Sweden's largest oil refiner, Corral Petroleum Holdings, sold on Friday €625m-equivalent of payment-in-kind toggle notes after dropping dollars for Swedish kronor.

UK budget hotel chain Travelodge Hotels on Friday priced the first sterling high yield corporate bond of the year, with pricing widened by the imminent EU referendum in the UK.

Kaufman & Broad, the French housing developer, completed its ‘re-IPO’ on Thursday, increasing its freefloat from 9% to 45% in a deal that totalled €257m before the greenshoe.

Portuguese covered bonds were steady on Friday following news that a Portuguese court had granted a provisional injunction against Bank of Portugal (BdP), and following a concern raised on Monday by Moody’s that Portuguese covered bond holders could lose their priority claim. The news emerges as DBRS decides on Friday whether to maintain its investment grade rating on Portugal, without which government bonds would not qualify for the ECB’s purchase programme.

Banco Santander posted a €1.6bn profit for January to March, above market expectations but 5% down from 2015’s first quarter, which the bank blamed on local currencies’ depreciation against the euro.

Banca Popolare di Vicenza’s board is to meet later this afternoon to consider the results of its €1.5bn IPO, for which the bookbuild closed earlier today (Friday April 29).

French retailer Fnac has agreed a short term loan agreement to finance its acquisition of Darty shares, made during its bidding war with South African retailer Steinhoff.

In this round-up, London overtakes Singapore as an RMB hub, foreign ownership of onshore RMB assets picks up, QDII products see further growth, and the US and China plan June economic meeting. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

The number of offshore RMB hubs has risen rapidly in the last few years to hit 20 last year. But having more offshore hubs does not necessarily equates to more global usage of the currency, say market observers who are hoping China will adopt a new strategy.

The sterling bond market gave a defiant reminder of its capacity for corporate paper this week, blowing away the memories of a so far underwhelming year that has been dominated by Brexit fears and undersupply. Ross Lancaster reports.