Europe

Crédit Agricole jump-started the primary covered bond market on Wednesday with a deal that is hoped will re-establish something of a normal rhythm of issuance.

The Pre-Emption Group, an assembly of listed companiesm investors and intermediaries that monitors pre-emption rights in the UK, has changed its guidelines to say that the impacts of the Covid-19 coronavirus means investors should support companies selling new shares worth up to 20% of their market capitalisation without giving existing shareholders first refusal.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary capital markets activity. The North American corporate bond market funded a staggering record $194bn of investment grade issues in March while Europe has also been busy — shaking up the league tables and yielding a surprise windfall for the very largest investment banks.

Lloyds Bank is looking to buy back one of its more costly perpetual tier one capital instruments, after its valuation collapsed in March. The move took some market participants by surprise, since it would have been approved by UK authorities, which are at the same time insisting that the country's banks conserve their capital levels during the coronavirus crisis.

Underwriting banks must subscribe to 30% of AMS's Sfr1.75bn (£1.81bn) rights issue after the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus smashed the Austrian sensor maker's share price during the offer period. Equity capital market sources said they have never seen a market which is so bad for issuance.

The UK Debt Management Office announced plans this week to raise the biggest volume of Gilts in a single calendar month as it prepares for a significant increase to its financing programme from government’s measures to support the economy through the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bank of England threatened to use its ‘supervisory powers’ on UK banks if they did not agree to suspend dividend distributions this year and stop paying cash bonuses to staff. The instructions do not apply to the equity-like CCDS instruments issued by building societies.

If regulators won’t turn off banks' additional tier one capital coupons during the coronavirus crisis, they will never find reason to.

If Europe's corporate bond lead managers have been learning that it is possible to bring new issues even on a day when stock markets are falling and credit spreads widening, they still know a bullish day when they see one, and Tuesday was one.

Canadian banks are among the largest, most profitable and best rated in the world, but that does not grant them immunity from liquidity bottlenecks. A recent spree of deals — although in some ways a show of might — illustrated that even the most fortified of lenders can appear vulnerable.

Equity capital markets in Europe got off to a great start in the first quarter of 2020, but any optimism about more deal flow has swiftly been killed off by the onset of a global equity market sell-off sparked by the spread of the coronavirus across the globe and the shutdown of major economies.

Carnival Cruises, the world’s largest leisure travel company, is rolling the dice on a coronavirus rescue package, launching a $1.25bn underwritten rights issue, $1.75bn convertible bond, and a $3bn dual currency high yield bond.