Europe

Covered bond spreads look well supported for the next few months, traders said this week. But concerns that the European Central Bank may begin tapering purchases just as the European Union ramps up issuance is causing some concern for the longer term.

The new Turkish central bank governor Sahap Kavcioglu kept rates unchanged at his second monetary policy meeting since taking office. Although a rate cut was unlikely, the decision bodes well for Turkish port operator LimakPort's planned dollar bond next week.

Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt (Spabol) priced a €1bn 10 year Norwegian covered bond flat to fair value on Thursday with demand of more than €2bn, showing, once again, the effect of investor demand in an environment of unprecedented negative net supply.

Banco Santander was targeting two currencies for additional tier one debt on Thursday, following closely behind a blowout euro deal for Deutsche Bank.

Zuercher Kantonalbank paid a generous spread this week for its first senior deal in euros, as rates investors showed no hesitation in adding exposure to the state-backed financial institution.

Alphawave, the Canadian company that develops technology for the semiconductor industry, is targeting a valuation of up to £3.2bn, according to the terms of its IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

The IPO of Suse, the German open-source software company, was covered quickly during its first day of bookbuilding in Frankfurt.

Greece sold the first and only public sector benchmark deal of the week on Wednesday. However, issuers are preparing to return in force in euros and dollars next week, according to bankers.

Bombardier has exited Alstom, the French maker of rolling stock, having sold the last of its shares through a €506m accelerated bookbuild on Tuesday night.

Globus, a German family-owned retailer, has launched a Schuldschein, joining a roster of other retailers stocking up on cash in the market.

A €1.15bn block trade in shares of Daimler, the German carmaker, was greeted warmly by investors on Tuesday night and has traded well in the aftermarket on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank’s top supervisor has hit out against plans to implement the Basel III output floor using a “parallel stack” of risk-weighted assets, warning EU lawmakers of the reputational risks of diverging from international agreements.