Europe

Activity in the covered bond primary market continued at a brisk pace on Wednesday as RBC, DG Hyp, Caffil and Erste Bank priced transactions, taking the deal count this week to 10. Despite mixed receptions, issuers have been able to raise over €7bn, with over €3bn issued on Wednesday, and at levels that look attractive compared to senior unsecured financials.

Bayerische Landesbank has mandated leads for a euro denominated public sector backed covered bond that is likely to be launched on Thursday.

The Swedish central bank (Riksbank) met on Wednesday amid speculation that it would announce an extension of its sovereign bond purchase programme to Swedish covered bonds, say analysts at Société Générale.

Oil trader Vitol has mandated five banks to lead its $7.5bn refinancing and will launch the deal imminently, according to a banker on the deal.

Poland made sure CEEMEA was not left out of the September restart rush on Wednesday, but more traditional emerging markets are likely to be left sidelined until after the US Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates, said debt bankers.

Russia’s Vnesheconombank is in talks to sell Panda bonds, but the note will be placed next year at the earliest, said a source close to the borrower.

Gazprom is planning to issue a Eurobond in the last quarter of this year, and has been in preliminary discussions for a size of €500m-€700m for the deal, according to a source with knowledge of the company’s plans.

Symetis, a Swiss company that makes artificial heart valves, began investor education on Tuesday for an IPO of up to Sfr80m on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Rarely has confidence in equity markets been more savagely battered during August than this year. But hopes that issuance of new deals will be able to continue in the September-December season were raised on Tuesday by the launch of investor education for two IPOs.

The share price of Paris-listed Ingenico plummeted on Friday, even as the Cac 40 index rose, after it was reported that the firm was considering a merger with UK payment processing company Worldpay.

A eurozone agency is set to brave a dollar market that suffered volatility last week. And despite improved conditions, the issuer opted for a conservative maturity.

Euronav, a Belgian oil tanker and storage firm, has signed a $750m secured loan, partly to buy new vessels to capitalise on a market for oil tanker services that is buoyant, despite the fall in the crude price.