Europe

This week's scorecard looks at the progress Nordic agencies have made in their 2020 funding programmes at the start of the second quarter.

Compagnie de Financement Foncier (CFF) on Monday became the first covered bond issuer in April to tighten pricing from initial guidance. Other issuers will take confidence from it to consider longer dated funding, offering an alternative to European Central Bank’s repo facilities.

Ukraine’s Privatbank saga has ratcheted up again as the lender filed a new claim, worth $5.5bn, against its former owners.

Svenska Handelsbanken attracted €8.5bn of demand for a new preferred senior bond on Monday, as credit markets started the week on a strong footing. The Swedish lender said the transaction would help it to ‘prudently manage’ its liquidity position.

Italy is set to announce a new decree law that would allow banks to use public guarantees to cover 90%-100% of their lending.

The number of year-to-date loans signed across CEEMEA more than halved compared to last year, which bankers said is a direct result of the coronavirus crisis that has engulfed countries and markets worldwide. The outlook for issuance is bleak, to the dismay of many lenders.

Despite an unsuccessful experience in selling a trade through an auction in March, L-Bank’s international funding officer, Sven Lautenschlaeger, has not been put off by the format. He believes it is the best way to sell a bond as it gives investors the power to set the price.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Land NRW)’s borrowing programme for the year is on the up and could reach an all-time high in response to the region’s fiscal package to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

A pair of sovereigns hit the MTN market to raise debt this week, looking for cash to meet increased borrowing requirements as they grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Israel came to the MTN market this week printing paper to helpfund its Covid-19 response, while Ireland ventured out to the ultra-long end of the curve to print its fourth century bond.

Amadeus, the Spanish provider of IT to the travel and tourism industries, has completed a €1.5bn financing involving the simultaneous sale of new stock and convertible bonds to protect its balance sheet after a fall in demand due to Covid-19.

The European Mortgage Federation and European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC) has established a task force to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative emerges at the same time as the European Banking Authority’s publication of guidelines on the treatment of debt moratoria.

UK equity market participants are assessing the impact of a huge number of dividend cancellations or postponements. It is another layer of fundamental disruption to business as usual, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, and one which could have wider repercussions.