Europe

The Financial Conduct Authority’s study of competition in investment banking has found no need for action over competition in the primary debt markets. However, the regulator said it will closely monitor the use of reciprocity to award mandates, particularly in covered bonds.

Allianz gave investors a rare chance to add insurance senior bonds to their portfolios on Wednesday, using healthy demand to bring spreads close to fair value on each of the its two tranches.

Arrow Global, the UK consumer debt manager, will start investor meetings on Thursday for a €225m floating rate note to fund its buyout of InVesting BV and repay its revolving credit facility.

Republic of Poland laid its euro ghosts to rest on Wednesday with a $750m tap of its January 2036 bonds on what bankers called the best day for emerging market bonds so far this year.

A stream of SSA borrowers entered the primary bond market this week in both euros and dollars. Dual tranche deals were popular as borrowers sought to take size without paying heavy new issue premiums.

BPCE made its first visit to the euro bank capital market this year on Wednesday, launching a 10 year bullet tier two trade just two weeks after a virtually identical trade in dollars.

The Hungarian Export-Import Bank has asked banks to make proposals for a loan of up to $600m, according to a banker close to the deal. This will be the bank’s first syndicated loan in nine years.

Nationwide issued the joint largest sterling covered bond of 2016 on Wednesday, attracting the largest order book of any sterling deal in the year. Leeds said it planned to issue its first euro deal at the short end of the curve on Thursday after finishing its four day, two team roadshow earlier this week.

Eika Boligkreditt and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBB) successfully issued €500m covered bonds respectively in the seven and 19 year tenors on Wednesday. The German transaction was the longest seen for over a year and pays testimony to investors’ appetite for duration.

Emerging markets investors are soon to be treated to the second Russian corporate of the year in dollars with Vimpelcom mandating banks this week.

Poland this week tackled head on the ghosts of bonds past and has reopened the ill-fated 2036 euro note it printed in January.

FIG bond investors had a little more to go at on Wednesday after a slow start to the week, while the market is finding it hard to decide whether a new recapitalisation fund for Italy’s banks is a good thing or not.