Europe

The Republic of France may not be alone among public sector borrowers in throwing off the shackles of the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact next year, as Europe faces the threat of terrorism and financial demands of supporting migrants fleeing war in the Middle East, according to a head of public sector DCM.

CLS Group added the Hungarian forint to the list of currencies eligible for settlement. The group, which settles trillions of dollars in foreign exchange transactions a month, now settles payment instructions in 18 currencies.

Fresenius SE, the German medical services company, received its second investment grade rating this week with a Moody's one notch upgrade on Monday. But there was little movement in the company's bond prices as market participants said the change had long been priced in.

Rentenbank equalled its second largest euro benchmark size ever while still managing to tighten pricing with a November 2022 on Tuesday.

AP Moeller-Maersk, the Danish shipping conglomerate, has raised its first benchmark euro bond since issuing a profit warning in October, a €600m seven year trade.

Car and truck manufacturer Daimler is expected to complete a Schuldschein deal in the coming weeks, with the market showing no sign of slowing.

German technology company Körber is expected to close its debut Schuldschein issuance before the month is up, according to a company spokesperson.

Kommuninvest will receive a capital injection from its owners to help meet upcoming leverage ratio rules, but has not ruled out issuing additional tier one paper to raise further capital.

Bankers are predicting a strong return of Russian bond issuance from non-sanctioned credits in 2016. But these issuers would be foolish to wait until next year when there is an issuance window open now.

Stadshypotek, the mortgage subsidiary of Svenska Handelsbanken, returned to the market with its first euro denominated covered bond since November 2014. The issuer increased the transaction size and tightened the spread, sending strong signal of confidence to other borrowers considering launching deals before the end of the year.

Allied Irish Banks revealed a 90bp jump in its fully-loaded common equity tier one ratio on Tuesday, and wasted no time in mandating banks for a highly anticipated tier two deal.

Hiscox secured strong demand for its £250m 30 year non-call 10 tier two notes on Tuesday as sterling investors showed no signs of fatigue despite a recent spate of subordinated issuance from British insurers.