Europe

Investors are hungry for UK public sector paper that offers a pick-up over Gilts, but deals have been in short supply. Can a new agency for local authorities fill the gap? Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker reports.

UK marketplace lenders have grown rapidly in recent years, but as they look to originate more and more new loans, platforms may want to lean on more established financial institutions for further funding. Cue the first securitization of UK marketplace loans. Tyler Davies reports

The gaggle of technology firms around Cambridge is leading the UK’s fintech efforts — and could transform the way that its much bigger brother, the City of London, operates. Peter McGill reports

The MEP leading the European Parliament’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II discussions told GlobalCapital that he has “duly noted” that the Commission’s changes to regulatory technical standards did not include all demands made by Parliament.

The UK government has ambitious infrastructure plans and the country’s pension funds are looking for better returns than those available on Gilts. Is there a match to be made, asks Peter McGill?

Telefónica Deutschland has signed its first syndicated loan, through subsidiary Telefónica Germany.

The City of London has faced up to — and seen off — European challenges before, most notably the launch of the single European currency. But as Philip Moore reports, it’s not just Brexit that the Square Mile should be afraid of.

The UK’s largest lenders may be operating in one of the developed world’s only growing economies, but an exit from the European Union could be about to turn their world upside down. Tom Porter reports.

World Bank tapped Italian retail investors for $165m this week, issuing a 10 year sustainable development bond.

Britain’s north-south divide has continued to widen since the turn of the century. Philip Moore looks at the initiatives attempting to reverse this damaging trend.

George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State

Portugal cut its funding costs at a bond auction and Italy lined up for a sale on Wednesday, as European Central Bank support protected eurozone periphery government bonds from any knock-on effects from a terrorist attack in Brussels on Tuesday.