Europe

Shares in CTS Eventim, the German ticketing and live events company, plunged more than 8% on Thursday after Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, its billionaire founder and CEO, sold €218.4m of stock.

KfW’s first €STR bond hit the market on Wednesday. Although the German agency managed a tighter price than EIB’s first note in the format, it was not able to drum up the same level of demand.

Gewobag, the A2/A+ rated German housing company, launched the first Schuldschein with a Euribor floor set below zero last week. Market participants said more will follow in 2020.

The European equity block trades market has caught fire. Banks have shown an appetite for risk more typical of the beginning of a year than the end of it, in an effort to finish 2019 with a flourish. Investors have welcomed the trades but there is a fear that at some point, a bank will push too far, writes Sam Kerr.

The creation of a common eurozone safe asset was discussed in depth at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s (Afme) European Government Bond Conference on Wednesday, with the consensus that such a security was needed. But there were questions over how it would be structured.

Strong interest from investors outside the UK on Thursday ensured that Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) was able to attract the highest demand for any sterling covered bond it has ever issued. Moreover, the sizeable deal was priced with no new issue concession and several basis points cheaper than if it the funding was in euros.

Dekabank was quick to launch a preferred senior bond on Thursday, garnering 2.5 times the demand it needed for its €500m print by mid-morning in London. The German lender only ended up paying a small new issue premium to its investors.

La Banque Postale has suggested that issuers of additional tier one (AT1) capital should drop the tradition of making large pricing steps in the euro market, after setting a very low coupon for its debut in the asset class this week.

Commerzbank’s corporate clients division will focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cross-selling over pure growth, as it continues with its latest strategic plan.

Luis de Guindos, vice-president of the European Central Bank, warned of over-reliance on monetary policy and called on governments to do their part in helping restore growth in the eurozone, in a speech on Thursday.

Hungry investors gulped down a Sfr420m block trade in shares of Sig Combibloc, the Swiss food and beverage packaging company, on Wednesday night after banks allowed shareholder Onex Capital to sell shares early.

Fabianna Del Canto, who recently left Barclays, has joined agora, the capital markets fintech founded by fellow Barclays veteran Charlie Berman.