Europe

Burford Capital, the litigation finance firm listed in London, has opened a two week subscription period for an offering of eight year retail bonds that are being marketed to investors who want to “bypass the economic cycle”.

ABN Amro issued the largest 15 year euro covered bond in a decade on Wednesday with a well oversubscribed, high quality order book. The transaction which is expected to offer a yield of about 1%, was priced as Bund yields hit historic lows, igniting a renewed search for yield.

The global head of infrastructure at Crédit Agricole will replace Jean-Francois Balay as global head of debt optimisation and distribution, as Balay becomes global head of risk.

A March recovery in European bank stocks is looking short lived after Barclays warned investors that first quarter investment banking revenues would be poor, and Italian banks resumed their slide.

Public sector borrowers have peppered the dollar and euro curves with deals this week, amid a government bond rally that is helping 10 year Bund yields flirt with record lows and the equivalent US Treasury rate near its lowest point in 2016.

ING has taken up the challenge of printing debt amid uncertainty over the Netherlands’ approach to total loss absorbing capacity (TLAC) requirements, while primary FIG activity has ridden out a secondary market blip.

A couple of debut issuers from the Middle East and two live debt exchanges are keeping bankers in CEEMEA busy this week and with several roadshows, albeit non-deal ones, in progress, the pipeline looks healthy.

Cerberus Capital Management’s launch of a £6.2bn UK RMBS deal — the biggest European ABS sale since the financial crisis — has finally lifted the uncertainty that has been hanging over the UK ABS market since the Granite sale process began a year ago, according to market participants.

A $12.7bn jumbo loan to back China National Chemical Corp’s (ChemChina) acquisition of Syngenta has gone into senior syndication in Asia, with the borrower seeking a large minimum commitment.

Tokmanni, Finland’s largest general discount retailer, announced on Tuesday its intention to float on Nasdaq Helsinki during the second quarter, selling both new and existing shares.

ArcelorMittal’s $3.015bn rights issue, as part of its $4bn debt cutting plan, was completed oversubscribed, the steelmaker said on Monday, despite the gloomy outlook for the European steel industry.

The recent disclosure by Wikileaks of a conversation between three senior directors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised the uncomfortable topic of the Greek debt crisis, which shows few signs of abating. The conversations suggested political tensions in the European Union will get worse, not better.