France

Crédit Agricole has mandated leads for a rare public sector-backed €500m 10 year Obligations Foncieres.

Rating: Aa3/AA/AA-

A sell-off in eurozone government debt last week, over rumours that the European Central Bank might start tapering its quantitative easing programme, may have helped issuers bring more shorter dated deals in euros this week than have been possible for months — but some issuers are wary that more volatility could be ahead.

CNP Assurance’s pioneering tier three bond in euros this week will have had funding teams at Europe’s insurance firms gripped. The French firm’s trailblazer in a new asset class has opened an irresistibly cheap source of capital and there is little standing in the way of a flurry of copycat trades, writes Tyler Davies.

French agency Unédic is looking to set a trend with its new medium term note format to replace its BMTN programme as the chosen vehicle for one to six year debt

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is to hold an open hearing on its plans to introduce an industry benchmarks regulation, having recently published draft technical standards.

Eurofins Scientific, the unrated French food and drugs testing company, has decided not to proceed with a planned euro bond after completing its roadshow for the deal last week, as investors increasingly take a stand on the market's tight pricing levels.

French sugar and alcohol producer Tereos on Wednesday sold a tap of its 2023 bond. It plans to use the offering’s proceeds to repay high cost bank credit facilities.

Investment grade corporate issuers hit the euro bond markets in force on Tuesday with five primary transactions in play, but defensive deal sizes characterised the frantic flow.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the Société de Financement Local (SFIL) sold benchmark debt to an increasingly welcoming market for euro-denominated paper on Tuesday.

The recent surge of primary action in European high yield suffered a blow on Monday when Verallia pulled its €500m pay-if-you-can (PIYC) bond. But the market trotted on and kept its momentum.

Air Liquide's €3.28bn rights issue, the biggest in the world last year, was a blowout success.