Europe

SEB Germany’s three year public sector Pfandbrief issued on Tuesday offered the lowest ever yield for a primary covered bond. But some sort of positive return was absolutely necessary, even if it was as tiny as possible.

Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday morning near its border with Syria. The response to the attack in the bond market has been muted.

The resolution of four small Italian banks has trimmed several basis points off the common equity tier one capital ratios of Intesa Sanpaolo, UBI Banca and UniCredit.

Russian lender VTB is expanding its China offering to meet rising demand from Russian corporates and financial institutions for RMB trade and investment services. GlobalRMB spoke to Alexander Dmitriev, global head of financial institutions at VTB, to discuss the bank’s China strategy and the challenges it faces.

The versatility of equity-linked debt in today’s hot market was in evidence again on Monday, when the City of Turin used the product for the first time to raise €150m of five year debt against its stake in Iren, the Italian multi-utility group.

CVC Capital Partners sold its last shares in Abertis Infraestructuras, the Spanish toll roads and telecoms infrastructure company, on November 19 in an €818m block trade that gave Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s league table standing a big boost.

Edag, the German family-owned car engineering service provider, started taking orders on Monday for its initial public offering in Frankfurt.

Danone returned to the corporate bond market on Monday for the second time this year, with a €750m 8.5 year bond.

A second French agency is looking to tap the belly of the euro curve this week and will be hoping to repeat Agence Française de Développement’s earlier success in the currency.

B2 Holding, the Norwegian debt management company, printed on Thursday its debut bond as it refinances its debts to support further acquisitions.

Romania-based New Europe Property Investments (Nepi) has returned to the international bond markets, releasing initial price thoughts for a 5.25 year euro senior unsecured deal, almost exactly a year after it last tried to tap the market and with a refreshed set of lead managers.

Royal Bank of Scotland has hired a well known high yield specialist to head corporate and event driven credit trading.