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The UK’s bulk annuity insurers have enjoyed exceptionally strong sales, and are now coming into the market for debt capital. But bond investors should be aware of the risks inherent in the business. -
The pace of growth in green mortgage financing is improving, but it is still woefully inadequate, particularly with respect to covered bonds where there are no price advantages. Fiddling with mortgage risk weights while the world burns will not change behaviour quickly enough.
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Could Deutsche Bank’s relegation from the top table of investment banks puncture Germany’s positive impression of its banking system, leading to a breakthrough in Europe's banking union?
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Deutsche Bank’s strategic overhaul looks set to maintain the bank’s leading position in debt capital markets and leveraged finance. But it casts doubts over Deutsche’s ability to retain a top tier corporate finance franchise and could signal the slow death of its equity capital markets franchise, writes David Rothnie.
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The past couple of years haven’t been kind to Nordic banks, and the next few might not be either.
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The return of ultra-low yields has also meant the return of enormous order books – Commerzbank’s $11bn of demand for its $1bn AT1 debut this week and Merck’s €11bn for €1.5bn two weeks ago, come to mind.
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South Korea’s green and sustainable bond market is thriving this year. The country is already streets ahead of its peer China, with its sovereign printing a green deal and issuers embracing new twists on these financings. That forward-thinking mentality is just the beginning.
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Despite the agony of Brexit, the UK has been making impressive strides in turning away from climate change. The government's new Green Finance Strategy is the latest. It goes in the right direction, but unfortunately is less a leap, more a shuffle.
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Can a bank ever really be certain about its interpretation of the perfect capital structure?
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CNP Assurances is planning to offer investors a rare green bond from the insurance sector, and the intended use of proceeds looks more worthy than some previous efforts — for example, from QBE Insurance Group. However, issuing a sustainability bond is of less relevance for insurers’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities than it is for other types of issuer.
