Europe

Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) had plenty of momentum in its order book as it looked to extend its maturity curve in the preferred senior bond market on Wednesday.

In an illustration of the spread tightening under way in covered bonds, Deutsche Apotheker-und Aerztebank (Dapo) priced a 10 year inside its curve this week. At the same time Raiffeisenlandesbank Vorarlberg followed DZ Bank into the 15 year tenor to give a tempting reoffer yield of almost 50bp.

The first tier two from Spain’s Unicaja Banco was more than three times subscribed this week after it entered a strong new issue market. It appeared alongside ING, which paid a slim 5bp premium to print a deal in the same asset class.

Dufry, the world’s largest travel retailer, issued €750m of senior unsecured notes on Wednesday to buy back its outstanding €700m of 4.5% notes, due in 2023, and pay back a small slice of its revolver.

A major investor in covered bonds told GlobalCapital this week that his firm was still positive on the near-term outlook for eurozone covered bonds, as they had lagged behind a more general credit spread tightening. That meant covered bonds still offered attractive value compared with government bonds, while the European Central Bank was stepping up its buying.

Russian pulp and paper producer Ilim Group has launched syndication to refinance a $500m loan, according to bankers. The loan is one of the last expected to be signed in Russia's international syndicated market this year.

Hamburg Commercial Bank is offering to buy back up to €1bn of its Pfandbrief notes, as the newly privatised German lender seeks to reduce its assets and liabilities in line with one another.

EMEA equity capital markets houses are finding a receptive audience for accelerated share sales as stockmarket indices hit new highs. But despite this, IPOs still face difficulties.

Luxembourg is issuing a euro benchmark bond on Wednesday, for the first time for almost three years, setting out to raise €1.7bn with a zero coupon seven year bond. Other issuers are waiting to pounce if the European Central Bank's quantitative easing resumption creates the right conditions.

Société Générale reported a slump in overall profit as part of its third quarter results on Wednesday, but was keen to draw attention to a near-50bp improvement in its capital ratios, thanks to restructuring actions.

Another Germany-focused real estate firm is dipping into the high yield bond market. Peach Property is launching €250m of unsecured senior notes, following a successful bond issue by Demire. While Germany is on the brink of recession, its property market keeps breaking new records.

KfW returned to the euro market on Tuesday for a tap of its euro May 2027 green bond. The deal offered a small new issue concession at the final spread, as the euro SSA pipeline winds down in the final months of the year.