Europe

KfW and Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) achieved strong results in sterling on Tuesday despite extremely volatile conditions in the currency as a result of uncertainty around the impact of Brexit and the rising cases of coronavirus in the UK, which has affected swap spreads and the cross-currency basis swap for non-UK borrowers.

Schuldschein bankers want to make sure last year’s drop in international borrowers was a temporary symptom of the coronavirus pandemic. But with restrictions on travel as well as government support programmes rolling into this year, there is little optimism that non-German issuers will return soon.

Foresight Group, the infrastructure private equity company, is seeking to list on the London Stock Exchange hoping to capitalise on momentum among investors for renewable energy companies.

Lucy Baldwin is joining Citi in April as head of research and equity advisory within the markets and securities services division (MSS).

Luigi Nalini SpA, an investment vehicle representing the Nalini family, has sold €64.5m of stock in Carel Industries, the Italian maker of air conditioning and humidifier systems, via an accelerated bookbuild on Monday night.

The Republic of Slovenia has repeated its 2020 feat of being the first sovereign issuer in CEEMEA to launch a bond by coming to the market with a mandate on Tuesday. Despite the apparent rush for bond funding, however, many believe that EU funding will provide some of what CEE countries would otherwise have taken from public bond markets.

Aareal Bank priced the first covered bond of the year flat to its curve and, unusually, the first leg of the swap payment was priced below the European Central Bank’s deposit rate of minus 0.50%. Even so, the bonds attracted good demand.

EMEA’s equity blocks market has reopened for 2021 with a sale of treasury shares by Immobel, the Belgian real estate developer. More issuance from the sector is expected following the imposition of fresh lockdowns across the continent to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Political turmoil in the US led to the country's stock markets falling on the first trading day of 2021 on Monday. For Europe’s equity bankers the US markets are an important marker of global investor sentiment, meaning the next few days in US politics will determine what accelerated placements they can bring to market in Europe.

Berenberg has strengthened its investment banking division with two senior hires, the latest in a series of appointments it has made.

Italy is at an advanced stage with its green bond framework with a highly anticipated debut deal in the format expected to arrive this year, according to the Italian Treasury.

Despite mounting evidence of a second more fatal wave of Covid-19 infections and longer lasting, tighter lockdowns, it seems that very little can unhinge the positive outlook for covered bonds as liquidity is set to remain king.