Europe

Lloyds defied mounting concerns over the outcome of this June’s UK referendum on whether to remain in the EU, raising €1.25bn of seven year funding on Monday. At the same time Leeds Building Society announced plans to issue its first deal in euros.

Car parts distributor LKQ is set to become the first US company this year to issue a high yield bond in euros — and more US names may be on their way, bankers say.

SBAB Bank printed its first euro fixed rate senior bond since 2013 on Monday, raising €500m of May 2021 notes at the start of what market participants believe could be a busy week for FIG supply.

Credit Suisse has sold its first benchmark euro senior unsecured bonds of the year, returning with a pure operating company version of a dual tranche deal it was forced to cut in half in June last year.

Renaissance Financial Holdings is looking to extend its maturity profile with a five year non-call two note via an exchange offer.

ICBC Standard Bank has hired Kent Hilen into the newly created role of head of international coverage, following the recent creation of an international DCM and syndicate operation.

Georgian Oil & Gas Corporation (GOGC) is preparing ground to issue the first Eurobond from Georgia since 2013 and is simultaneously offering to buy back for cash its existing July 2017s.

Arrow Global, the UK distressed debt buyer and manager, on Friday announced the buyout of Dutch peer InVesting, in a deal to be funded using current debt facilities.

The number of new covered bond issuers grew to five this year after Standard and Poor’s assigned a preliminary AAA rating to the covered bond programme of The Mortgage Society of Finland.

Europe’s private debt market is growing, as companies seek funding diversity and longer maturities than offered by bank loans. GlobalCapital estimates there was €45bn of issuance of private debt to institutional investors last year.

UBS has joined a growing list of European banks ramping up their senior holding company level issuance in 2016, printing a large three tranche deal in dollars as demand for the product surges.

The success of the Euro private placement market is clear from its internationalisation and the growth in issuance by smaller companies, said market participants at an industry gathering on Tuesday. But in the next stage of the market’s evolution, it will have to tackle the issues that come with deals of lower credit quality.—