Europe

Jacques Callaghan, formerly of Macquarie Capital, has joined HSBC as head of UK mid-market M&A, concentrating on a wedge of companies that are important to the bank’s new strategy.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the progress European sovereigns have made in their funding programmes at the start of May.

Unédic, the French agency responsible for providing the country's unemployed with social benefits, has had to ramp up its borrowing programme for 2021, thanks to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK Municipal Bonds Agency has announced the two first councils that will take part in its pooled issuance scheme, although the bonds themselves may well not be issued before the summer.

Barclays topped off a record-breaking quarter for its markets division by tapping the dollar market for $1.75bn this week, amid red-hot funding conditions underpinned by soothing words from US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell.

Lloyds Bank has got most of its covered bond and senior funding out of the way already this year — ideal, given the threat of the coronavirus pandemic to both bond markets and the wider economy. But the bank has also been busy optimising its capital stack, which should support its lending just when it is most needed.

More European convertible bond issuance is expected in the weeks and months ahead as companies continue to scramble to raise liquidity or take advantage of the opportunities that the Covid-19 pandemic has unexpectedly created.

VakifBank, one of Turkey's top tier financial institutions, has refinanced an existing loan, with a rollover ratio of almost 90%. The deal comes amid growing uncertainty among capital markets issuers about capital raising and the reality of less advantageous market conditions.

Emergency financing to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have dominated UK equity capital markets since the country went into lockdown on March 23. But investors still have the capacity to fund companies raising growth capital although many issuers are said to be waiting for clarity on the path out of lockdown from the government expected next week.

The UK Debt Management Office has chosen the banks to lead what will be the first of an unprecedented two syndicated offerings in a single calendar month as it prepares to finance a substantial increase in its borrowing requirements.

Rabobank exercised a call option on one of its outstanding additional tier ones this week, with market participants expecting redemption to become the rule rather than the exception during the coronavirus crisis.

Caffil’s debut Covid-19 bond issued this week has shown that the moribund public sector covered bond market can play a crucial role in financing the response to the coronavirus crisis. The deal implies that the hitherto dormant public sector programmes many issuers have set up across Europe have scope to be reactivated to provide stable long-term financing for debt-ridden regional borrowers.