France
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Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel looked to the long end with its first non-preferred senior bond on Wednesday, following the example Crédit Agricole set late last month. -
Covered bonds issued by Intesa Sanpaolo, Axa Bank and Aktia on Tuesday “flew out the door”, according to leads, with the depth and breadth of demand surpassing expectations. The superb conditions may not last, but exuberance is expected to prevail for now.
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Investors put in more than €6bn of orders for a new non-preferred senior bond from Crédit Agricole at the beginning of the week, after the French bank opened books on the longest dated deal of the year so far.
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The French state has continued its privatisation drive with state-owned bank Bpifrance selling a €284.7m stake in Eutelsat Communications on Thursday.
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The engine driving the SSA euro market has found a new gear as borrowers and investors turn their attention to the hitherto underserved long end of the curve. The overwhelming demand they received this week is likely to encourage more borrowers to follow.
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Troubled French pipeline technology maker Vallourec unveiled a turnaround plan alongside its fourth quarter numbers on Wednesday evening, as well as an extension of its bank facilities that soothed some of the refi worries that have plagued the company.
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Société Générale’s €1bn eight year and Credi-Mutuel CIC’s €1bn five year are leading the way with the highest mark of all French covered bonds issued this year on GC Bond Marker. But with the survey still open on Caffil’s recent €1bn 10 year social debut, these two issuers could well be knocked off the top spot.
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An SSA borrower smashed another set of records with a long dated bond on Tuesday. France’s hotly anticipated 30 year syndication did not disappoint, raising €7bn with its lowest yield ever at the maturity.
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France has picked banks for a long 30 year euro benchmark, returning to the long end of the curve with a syndication for the first time since May 2017, as promised in late 2018.
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French toll road operator Autoroutes du Sud de la France found plenty of investors willing to buy the issuer’s first corporate bond sale of 2019. The demand allowed the company to tighten the spread it was offering by 22bp through the marketing process and price the deal in line with its existing curve.
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The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) became the latest issuers to enjoy a strong euro market this week, and there is more supply to come.
