Finland

Credit Suisse found itself long of stock in Neste Corp, the Finnish oil refiner, after an €861m sale of shares by the Finnish government on Tuesday night. The failed block trade has prompted equity capital markets bankers to ask whether the market has become much more unforgiving this year, writes Aidan Gregory.

A €861m selldown of shares in Finnish oil refiner Neste Corp by the government of Finland on Tuesday night failed to clear, leaving the bookrunner holding a residual position.

Solidium, the investment company owned by the government of Finland, has sold a chunk of its stake in Stora Enso, the Finnish maker of pulp and paper, via a block trade that was multiple times oversubscribed, according to a banker involved in the deal.

Kojamo, Finland’s largest residential property company, has set the range on its Helsinki listing, valuing it at over €2.1bn.

OP Mortgage Bank raised €1bn of seven year funding in the covered bond market on Thursday and paid only 1bp more than Nordea’s recent seven year. However, with a €1.2bn order book, it was the least subscribed Finnish covered bond of the year suggesting the tenor has lost some appeal.

Aktia Bank attracted strong demand for its tightly priced covered bond on Tuesday, the issuer’s first since March 2015, and the first from its restructured mortgage business.

EQT has cleared out its stake in Terveystalo, the Finnish private healthcare company it floated on the Nasdaq Helsinki in October.

Kojamo, Finland’s largest private real estate company, has launched an initial public offering and is seeking to list in Helsinki.

Nordea issued a €1bn seven year bond on Thursday and attracted the highest subscription ratio of any euro covered bond of this size in 2018, while pricing with a tiny new issue premium. The execution offers further evidence that covered bonds are on a solid footing, in contrast with other sectors.

Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark is expected to open order books on Thursday for a €500m 15 year Austrian Pfandbrief, LBBW is planning a UK roadshow with a sterling Pfandbrief in mind and Aktia Bank has announced plans for a euro covered bond roadshow.

A sale of shares in SSAB, the Nordic steel producer, by Industrivärden attracted heavy demand from investors bullish towards the sector after Chinese production cuts caused a rally in the price of steel.

A Nordic SSA has promoted a member of staff to be its new head of funding.