Europe

Crédit Agricole SFH and Coventry Building Society managed to achieve their price and size targets in the covered bond market on Thursday with oversubscribed deals. However, investors displayed plenty of price sensitivity.

Greece's Alpha Bank attracted healthy demand for its €800m share sale, in the latest sign of the country’s economic rehabilitation following the eurozone crisis.

Eight years after publishing its first consultation paper the Spanish Treasury has set out its hotly anticipated draft covered bond law which market participants greeted enthusiastically, largely because it comprehensively addresses all the main features of the EU’s Covered Bond Directive. However, it contained a number of surprising and potentially contentious proposals.

Thomas Schneider, head of European corporate loans at Allianz Global Investors, is set to retire at the end of July.

Bulgarian animal healthcare company Huvepharma has become the latest casualty in an IPO market oversaturated with supply.

Urban Logistics Reit, the London-listed real estate investment trust focused on logistical properties, is tapping investors for £108m of fresh capital as it gears up to acquire further assets.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce achieved a roaring success with its $2bn five year 144A deal priced on Wednesday, the first from a Canadian bank in over a year. CIBC managed to achieve a size and spread that would not have been possible in euros and showed the importance of paying attention to key currency markets outside Europe.

The Belgian region of Wallonia was the only public sector borrower to the follow Tuesday’s jumbo dual tranche by the European Union in the primary market on Wednesday as it raised €1bn with a new long 10 year conventional bond.

Credito Emiliano managed to attract a robust order book for its €750m seven year covered bond that was sold on Wednesday, following an extended marketing period that enabled price discovery. At the same time Coventry Building Society mandated leads for only the second UK covered bond in euros to be issued this year.

UBS has appointed global heads of equity capital markets for the first time in almost two years as the Swiss bank eyes opportunities in a booming IPO market.

Turkey, Cameroon and Latvia all entered international bond markets on Wednesday. Investors said the sovereigns are rushing to secure funding while conditions are still positive, amid the anticipation of rate rises.

Following the pricing of Tuesday’s deal from the European Union, bank traders reported good profit taking in covered bonds, Laender paper and, most conspicuously the previous issue of EU bonds. Despite that, spreads were steady.