France

The three year part of the dollar curve took centre stage for public sector issuers this week, having played second fiddle to fives so far this year. Issuers were met with just as strong a reception in the short end of the curve as they have enjoyed in fives so far — and SSA bankers believe some could be tempted to test the longer end.

Guarantor: Kingdom of Belgium (51.41%), Republic of France (45.59%) and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (3.00%)

Dollar SSA deals are showing little signs of a hangover from a public holiday in the US on Monday, with all three of Wednesday’s trades well over subscribed and pricing inside guidance.

Big central bank and bank treasury demand, alongside good liquidity in the sterling/dollar cross currency basis swap and issuers’ willingness to print large deals, are driving the strongest ever start for the sterling SSA market — and a record trade for World Bank.

Crédit Agricole issued Swiss franc senior preferred bonds due November 2023 on Wednesday, pricing the transaction inside the bank's Swiss senior secondary curves.

A widening in dollar swap spreads since the end of last week should help support a trio of dollar deals on screens for Wednesday’s business, said SSA bankers.

Crédit Agricole has named Atul Sodhi as head of global debt capital markets corporates, for which he will relocate from Hong Kong to Paris.

A senior funding officer at a European SSA has crossed the aisle to take up a syndicate position at an investment bank.

The Chinese government contemplates RMB-denominated IPOs for mainland companies fundraising for Belt and Road projects, foreign ownership of Chinese bonds goes up in December, and premier Li Keqiang indicates the economy grew by 6.9% in 2017.

Guarantor: Kingdom of Belgium (51.41%), Republic of France (45.59%) and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (3.00%)

Crédit Agricole SFH and Caffil issued eight year covered bonds this week and managed to attract strong demand from bank investors buying for their liquidity portfolios.

A trio of 10 year covered bond deals issued this week showed that interest in this tenor is less uncertain than initially feared. But, in a rising yield environment, investors are likely to become more defensive and this demand risks being short-lived.