Market participants are considering whether sustainability-linked bank bonds have a future after the European Banking Authority expressed doubt over the format’s regulatory eligibility this week. The debate remains open, but some ESG bankers predict the focus for innovation could now switch to ‘use of proceeds’ products.
A smattering of smaller euro issuers made the most of an attractive window this week, as they looked to use the stable conditions to take “some risk off the table” ahead of the summer break.
BNP Paribas printed its first green bond in dollars this week, as banks cranked out deals and activity nearly touched on last year’s pandemic-induced volumes.
Three covered bonds issued this week from Korean Housing Finance Corp, Caffil and Oberbank were well received, but they would not have made it over the line without attractive new issue concessions.
UBS sold its first green bond this week, bringing the deal at the tightest euro senior spread of the year so far. Further labelled issuance is set to follow, with UniCredit preparing a green debut of its own.
The European Banking Authority has asked banks again to do everything necessary to eliminate “infection risk” from their balance sheets, as some lenders seek new ways to keep cheap forms of legacy capital in their liability structures.
Erste Bank’s Croatian subsidiary will sell its first euro denominated preferred senior note next week, which it will count towards its minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).
National Australia Bank has mandated leads for the first Australian covered bond in euros for over two years. With redemptions outstripping supply this month, the NAB deal could be the beginning of a spurt of issuance.
Accusations of greenwashing have been infrequent in the 14 year old green bond market, which mainly sticks to uncontroversial assets, such as renewable energy and railways. The sustainability-linked bond market is only a toddler, but already a much more difficult child. No wonder: it is handling tougher material.
BNP Paribas printed its first green bond in dollars this week, as banks cranked out deals and activity nearly touched on last year’s pandemic-induced volumes.
Three covered bonds issued this week from Korean Housing Finance Corp, Caffil and Oberbank were well received, but they would not have made it over the line without attractive new issue concessions.
A smattering of smaller euro issuers made the most of an attractive window this week, as they looked to use the stable conditions to take “some risk off the table” ahead of the summer break.
Rates markets have been well supported in the last few days, but covered bond spreads are still a little shaky with market makers waiting to see the outcome of the next deal from the EU for its €800bn Next Gen programme that is expected to emerge on Monday.
Market participants are considering whether sustainability-linked bank bonds have a future after the European Banking Authority expressed doubt over the format’s regulatory eligibility this week. The debate remains open, but some ESG bankers predict the focus for innovation could now switch to ‘use of proceeds’ products.
UBS sold its first green bond this week, bringing the deal at the tightest euro senior spread of the year so far. Further labelled issuance is set to follow, with UniCredit preparing a green debut of its own.
GlobalCapital is delighted to reveal this year’s winners of its Financial Institution Bond Awards, which celebrate the top issuers, arrangers, bankers and service providers in the capital markets.
James Marriott is joining Wells Fargo in a senior debt capital markets role this autumn after he resigned from NatWest Markets, where he was head of DCM and advisory for financial institutions and sovereigns, supranationals and agencies.
A smattering of smaller euro issuers made the most of an attractive window this week, as they looked to use the stable conditions to take “some risk off the table” ahead of the summer break.
Erste Bank’s Croatian subsidiary will sell its first euro denominated preferred senior note next week, which it will count towards its minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).
National Australia Bank has mandated leads for the first Australian covered bond in euros for over two years.
The blockchain firsts in capital markets are coming quickly.
Snus tobacco and match producer Swedish Match has made a rare stop in the euro bond market to issue its first offshore deal of the year.
NatWest Group recorded a loss at its investment bank on Thursday, after climbing down from the dizzying heights of last year’s first quarter profits. The weaker numbers weighed on the performance of the group, but the bank still managed to breeze past market expectations.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) will need to see more evidence that its capital reforms restrict “buffer usability” and have “(pro)cyclical” impacts before it recommends any changes to the framework.
The thinking that the additional tier one (AT1) market should go back to trading through its pre-pandemic valuations holds big risks.
The EU Commission is rushing to untangle legislation that would have stopped EU investors from buying Australian securitizations or covered bonds, after the country ended up on the EU’s list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.
Italy’s NPL collections have begun edging back to normality, with December’s collections 71% higher than those in November. The latest collection figures are the highest since the pandemic began.
Bank bond spreads widened on the back of negative sentiment this week, but a handful of lenders were still able to take advantage of a constructive backdrop in the new issue market.
Credit Suisse gave investors a rare chance to pick up both fixed and floating rate senior bonds on Monday. The dual tranche deal was met with healthy demand, despite progressing more slowly than expected.
Bank capital has gone back under the microscope during the coronavirus pandemic, with policymakers asking themselves whether the Basel III rules can work as intended. Tyler Davies reports.
The Finnish financial sector wants to put the brakes on new measures aimed at completing the Banking Union, arguing that EU member states should move back into a clearly defined process of risk reduction.
Asia-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) has raised $27.7m from a women's livelihood bond that was linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its chief executive and founder explains the deal’s rationale to GlobalCapital Asia.
Go to GlobalCapital's FIG data pages for league tables and all of the latest information on priced deals, including covered bonds.
View FIG DataBanks are asking whether funding conditions have reached a peak, as investors find more reason to balk at tight bond valuations. Deal arrangers argue markets will hold together, but the future could still hold higher new issue premiums and a more careful approach when it comes to trade selection.
The European Central Bank issued several warnings about the banking sector in its Financial Stability Review (FSR) this week, as it drew attention to corporate zombification, a new capital markets exodus and an undesirable tightening in lending standards.
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