Europe

Erste Group Bank and Société Générale both capitalised on the euro market’s extremely favourable conditions this week, pricing new subordinated deals in line with fair value or even through it.

Northumberland Estates, the body that manages the interests of the Duke of Northumberland, has sold £200m worth of private placements to US and UK investors, according to market sources. The borrower joins Blenheim Palace, the Duchy of Cornwall and a long list of esoteric credits to tap the private markets.

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NKT, a Danish industrial conglomerate in the power cables industry, has launched a Dkr1.3bn ($208m) rights issue to shore up its financial footing in order to meet orders and to withstand the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rabobank sold the largest 20 year covered bond of the year at the tightest spread it has ever achieved in that tenor on Thursday, illustrating superb market conditions.

Capital & Counties Properties, the London landlord that owns large amounts of Covent Garden, is strengthening its liquidity position by issuing a £250m bond exchangeable into shares of Shaftesbury.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey delivered a much anticipated interest rate hike on Thursday, fulfilling market watchers' hopes that the country will reform its way to economic recovery. A trip to the primary bond market for the sovereign could be imminent.

Syncona, the UK life sciences investor, has launched a new gene therapy company, through a £45m series A private fundraising round. The company could be a future candidate for a lucrative biotech listing.

Limited supply prospects next year suggest that relentless purchases under the European Central Bank’s Covered Bond Purchase Programme (CBPP3) will continue to exert a strong influence on yields, squeezing more real money investors out of the market, even though its gross purchases may decline.

The sterling syndicated loan market hosted two environmentally friendly trades this week, with UK power generation company Drax and renewables fund Octopus Renewables Infrastructure signing facilities.

The European Central Bank revealed this week that 10 small banks would be operating below their regulatory capital requirements if they hadn’t made use of transitional support measures during the coronavirus crisis.

The additional tier one (AT1) market has plenty of room left to rally, according to a new report from analysts at Morgan Stanley, even though valuations are already drawing close to other asset classes.