France

Unibail-Rodamco has signed today its green loan, one of the first syndicated facilities to offer the borrower a pricing benefit if it hits sustainability targets. The loan was increased twice in syndication after being oversubscribed, from €500m to €600m and then to €650m.

Hard on the heels of Unibail-Rodamco’s ground-breaking green loan, believed to be the first large corporate financing to give the borrower a pricing benefit if it hits sustainability targets, Koninklijke Philips, the Dutch health technology group, has signed a similar €1bn loan linked to its sustainability rating, writes Jon Hay.

The stakes have rarely been higher for a French election. When French voters head to the polls on Sunday, it may be to determine the fate of the eurozone.

Uncertainty over upcoming European elections could make short term debt investors “run to the sidelines”, said a commercial paper banker.

Sofina, the Belgian investment company, sold the last of its stake in Eurazeo, the French private equity firm, on Tuesday night through a block trade led by Société Générale in which Eurazeo bought back 1m of its shares.

The first round of the French presidential election takes place this Sunday and, while the market is mostly quiet, Derek Halpenny, head of global markets research at MUFG, says that market participants have not priced in much risk of a shock anti-EU result.

A hotly contested battle for the French presidency has quieted much of the public sector market this week, but KfW has picked banks for a five year euro benchmark.

Bankers active in UK equity capital markets were as surprised as anyone about Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision on Tuesday to call a snap general election on June 8. But they were calm about the risk of it disrupting issuance.

The French presidential election saga has taken another twist, with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s chances slipping — but those of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, from the other extreme of the political spectrum, rising. Asian investors are pulling back from deals until the election hurdle is cleared, say issuers — but the rise of Mélenchon may also provide an earlier than expected relief rally.

Expecting the unexpected has been market philosophy since the Brexit vote last June. Adherents may well have thought that made Marine Le Pen a certainty to win this year’s French presidential election.

Guarantor: Republic of France

The corporate bond market came to a standstill on Wednesday, prompting investors to warn issuers deciding to wait until after the Easter break that they will likely be forced to pay up.