Europe

European banks made the most of an improving tone in the euro market this week, piling on top of one another to access funding in a small but supportive window.

A busy European IPO calendar grew on Thursday, with banks pushing more deals into the market despite growing investor fatigue and volatile equity indices.

Portuguese insurance company Fidelidade is looking to sell a tier two bond this week, three years after first exploring the idea of issuing a subordinated debt instrument.

The State of North Rhine Westphalia launched a dual tranche bond on Thursday, having postponed the deal due to last week’s crowded and volatile market.

Equity capital markets bankers have showed this week they are happier to underwrite big block trades for clients than they were earlier in the year, a sign of a healthy market for large secondary sales.

A proposed French law may incentivise owners to take out loans that improve the energy efficiency of their homes, which could boost green mortgage production and green covered bond issuance.

French banks and foreign rivals are slugging it out in France’s corporate finance boom, where proximity to the government is an advantage, writes David Rothnie.

Southway Housing, a housing association which owns and manages 6,000 properties in and around Manchester, is marketing private placements in a debut deal, according to market sources.

European banks are trying to lock in funding at longer maturities as they consider whether credit spreads have reached a low point. But demand is less certain at the long end of the market, and some investors are pushing for a higher premium to reflect duration risk.

Euroclear mistakenly credited investors with interest on one of UniCredit’s legacy capital deals this week, shortly after the Italian bank made a controversial decision to skip the coupon. The asset servicer is in the process of reversing its error.

A wave of mergers and acquisitions is on the way, driven by the rise in awareness of climate change, bankers believe. But there will be no easy options for companies trying to reshape their businesses for the low carbon transition, and the process will create winners and losers.

SMBC Nikko has hired Markus Steilen as managing director and head of continental European debt syndicate, based in Frankfurt, as it expands its capital markets capabilities in the region.