Europe

Korean Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) issued its first €1bn-sized covered bond on Wednesday and priced the deal inside fair value. At the same time, Société Générale issued a €1bn 10 year green covered bond flat to its curve with eye-catching demand.

Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) is embarking on a roadshow to market a tenge-denominated Eurobond.

The cost of insuring against default on Italian bank bonds has fallen to its lowest point in over a year, after investors embraced the result of recent regional elections in the country.

Low yields have driven financial institution bond investors to put money into higher yielding instruments. The latest wheeze is insurance companies' restricted tier one (RT1) bonds, which investors think offer value. Issuance is set to rise as issuers look to replace grandfathered products.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields as of Wednesday, January 29, 9am UK time. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Turkey's Vakifbank has released initial price guidance for a dollar benchmark, with the intention of printing the deal later on Wednesday.

The coronavirus outbreak has driven a rush to safe haven assets. While the demand for SSA paper is hotter than ever, some feared that sharply falling yields would make the primary market less attractive. However, borrowers have proved those worries unfounded by building big order books for new bonds this week.

Kristina Church has moved from Barclays to Lombard Odier Investment Managers as a senior investment strategist for sustainable investment, as the firm seeks to grow its offering in this area.

Leveraged credit markets are powering ahead with a jam-packed issuance calendar, despite a wobble on Monday when credit indices widened a little on fears about the coronavirus epidemic. On Tuesday spreads firmed up again, though, and bankers bringing new issues have barely broken a sweat all week.

Demand for covered bonds has surged higher in recent weeks, even though yields in the asset class have plunged lower. But issuers should not get too excited, as the balance of power is sure to tilt back in the favour of investors if yields carry on falling.

France printed a €5bn 2052 benchmark on Tuesday, opting for an aggressive pricing strategy and keeping to a more restrained size than its typical €7bn.

The scale of change in financial markets over the past decade has been crazy. At the beginning of 2010, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis was a gathering storm, with Greece about to become its first and biggest casualty. A decade on, some now consider the Hellenic Republic a safe haven investment as investors try to protect their money from the repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak.