Europe

The IPO of Believe, the French digital music company, was covered on its full, if smaller, deal size on Friday morning, bringing some joy to an IPO market that continues to be hit by volatility and investor reticence over new deals.

The sovereign green bond market could get a tremendous boost, economists believe, from the European Commission's changing attitudes to member states' fiscal deficits, writes Lewis McLellan.

European lawmakers are introducing new rules and restrictions for banks in areas where supervisors could be far more effective acting on a case-by-case basis.

Banks are asking whether funding conditions have reached a peak, as investors find more reason to balk at tight bond valuations. Deal arrangers argue markets will hold together, but the future could still hold higher new issue premiums and a more careful approach when it comes to trade selection.

The sovereign, supra and agency sector has seen better buying interest over the past week, but the long end continues to look more vulnerable ahead of the European Central Bank meeting and expected supply.

Aegon’s head of capital market solutions, Lein Pieter Cevaal, speaks to GlobalCapital about the bank’s recent experience with its debut 15 year soft bullet covered bond, a maturity that worked well for the borrower despite awkward market conditions.

Corporate broking relationships are undergoing their biggest shake-up in a decade as companies reassess banking relationships following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russian gold miner Nord Gold said on Thursday that it wants to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange, following a rally in the price of gold since March.

KfW sold its first Sonia floating rate note on Wednesday, with the deal pricing at the tightest ever spread for the product in syndicated format.

Market participants are coming to terms with new technical standards from the European Banking Authority, which give the final say on how issuers should interact with supervisors when they manage their regulatory debt instruments.

The primary market for covered bond issuance is expected to improve in the five to 10 year part of the curve in the run up to next week’s European Central Bank meeting. Although Aegon Bank showed that the ultra-long long end is open, a more guarded approach is warranted, said bankers on Thursday.

French engineering company Vallourec has unveiled plans for a €300m rights issue to help return its balance sheet to a sustainable footing, following a recovery in the oil industry after the slump in demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.