Europe

Two FIG issuers this week took advantage of good conditions to tap the Swiss franc market, revealing an opportunity for other banks to escape widened euro and dollar spreads.

Republic of Austria

Bahrain joined Poland this week in the dubious honour of being downgraded by Standard & Poor’s after the pricing of a new bond but before settlement.

Prospectuses for UK IPOs are now routinely warning investors that the country leaving the European Union is a risk factor — a marked change from last year.

Crédit Agricole penned an €18bn deal to simplify its complex ownership structure, something investors have long criticised, to boost its capital base and allow it to pay dividends fully in cash.

The French bank has simplified its investment banking structure, ending a year of uncertainty and turning the focus of its coverage teams away from London, writes David Rothnie.

Marcel Koebeli, the country head of Switzerland at Barclays, has left the bank.

Portugal's central bank vetoed the sale of one of Novo Banco’s non-core business units on Wednesday, arguing it was protecting the rescued lender’s reputation as its own sale progresses.

Romania is offering a 20bp new issue premium on taps of its euro-denominated 2025 and 2035 bonds, according to a lead manager on the trade.

Russia has filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in the High Court in London, with regards to the default on $3bn of bonds at the end of last year.

(updated with more detailed analysis 2.20pm) Vodafone is today issuing an unprecedented £2.88bn mandatory convertible bond, with many innovative features, that combines aspects of two recent trends in the market: the equity-neutral CB and the subordinated, equity-accounted deal.

SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge took advantage of good conditions in Swiss francs on Thursday to print its second deal in the currency.