Europe

Rating: A3/A/A-

Germany would be wise to consider diversifying its colossal funding needs with a syndication in dollars — a currency in which it is no stranger and which has become more attractive for euro-based funders, according to a head of public sector debt capital markets at one of the sovereign’s primary dealerships.

Axa Bank SCF became the first bank since February to issue a 20 year covered bond — showing investors' growing appetite for risk. It also offered encouragement to eurozone issuers with long term funding needs to return to the market — especially given the strong performance of deals eligible for the ECB's purchase programmes compared with those that are not.

Bank of Nova Scotia was looking to test investors’ appetite for one of first additional tier one transactions of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, helping to set a reference point for pricing in the asset class.

Insurance company Phoenix Group Holdings launched a tier two in the dollar market on Thursday in a refinancing exercise, making use of favourable conditions across the board with a "well received" trade. But the issuance raised some concerns regarding the company’s plans to deleverage after its acquisition of ReAssure.

JDE Peet’s, the European coffee conglomerate listing in Amsterdam, is shutting IPO books after just three days of book building — an extraordinarily quick execution period for what is likely to be Europe’s largest IPO this year.

Nomura is eyeing acquisitions and a change in chief executive promises a reboot of its investment banking ambitions, writes David Rothnie.

Commerzbank and Crédit Agricole this week showed that banks do not have to pay big premiums for subordinated paper, with investors regaining their appetite for risk during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the largest investment banks made 12% less revenue from lending in the first quarter, despite balance sheet expansion as they supported companies, according to research from analytics firm CRISIL Coalition.

The European Commission has published its proposal for an EU recovery fund. Next Generation EU, as it has been dubbed, has impressed onlookers with promises of €500bn of grants and a further €250bn of loans for countries affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Commerzbank set up an issuance programme this week that will enable it to sell up to €3bn of additional tier one (AT1) debt. The German lender is preparing to take advantage of regulatory relief in its Pillar 2 capital requirements.

Banks are bounding back into the Kangaroo market. On Wednesday, BNP Paribas jumped in to sell the first syndicated Australian dollar senior non-preferred deal since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, later that day the Bank of Nova Scotia announced plans to join the fray with a mandate for a three year bail-inable deal.