France

Public sector borrowers in the euro market on Thursday focused their attentions on the long end of the curve, but not every trade made it to full subscription.

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The European Financial Stability Facility has sent requests for proposals for a trade next week, as a pair of rare issuers on Wednesday placed deals flat to or through fair value in a euro market buoyed by Emmanuel Macron’s election as French president last weekend. Longer dated trades — of which the EFSF has sold several this year — also look to be back on the table for borrowers.

Emmanuel Macron’s two-stage victory in the French presidential election rightly brought relief to the eurozone bond markets — as well as to all those who believe in the European project as a force for good. But talk of a Macron presidency opening the way for further European integration in the form of jointly issued eurozone bonds is far too early.

Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale has appointed a veteran of the French social security sector to succeed its long-serving chairman Patrice Ract Madoux, who is retiring.

Bpifrance Financement broke its size record on Tuesday, nipping back into capital markets ahead of several of its compatriots, according to a funding official at the issuer. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and NRW.Bank also made the most of the stable conditions, printing their own benchmarks.

Compagnie de Financement Foncier attracted the largest order book in over two years for a deal of its size when it issued a €1.5bn 5.5 year Obligations Foncières on Tuesday. The deal was priced through fair value causing CFF's older bonds to reprice.

Three public sector borrowers hit screens on Monday, mandating in a euro market buoyed by the defeat of National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French presidential election on Sunday.

Compagnie de Financment Foncier (CFF) has mandated leads for a five year covered bond, taking advantage of positive sentiment that has followed French presidential elections.

The Belgian government sold the first chunk of its stake in BNP Paribas for €2bn through a structured trade that began on Wednesday night. The four bookrunners priced the trade aggressively and were left long of some stock, but luck has been with them so far, write Jon Hay and Aidan Gregory. They will be praying their fortune holds and Emmanuel Macron wins the second round of the French presidential election on Sunday.

Société Générale missed consensus for its first quarter earnings on Thursday, following a €963m legal settlement with the Libyan sovereign wealth fund. But the French bank’s results were otherwise robust, with a particularly strong performance in trading fixed income currencies and commodities.

France’s investment bankers will be keen to prove their top level political connections following Emmanuel Macron's election as president, writes David Rothnie.