France

Covered bond issuers failed to take heed of poor market conditions and, just like lemmings, followed one another with poorly performing deals this week.

Pernod Ricard, the French distiller, priced an opportunistic €500m bond on Monday, paying a hefty 18bp premium in a market at risk of keeling over.

Crédit Agricole braved jittery markets on Wednesday to price its first ever tier two transaction in Swiss francs.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceuticals company, priced a €2bn three tranche bond on Monday amid heavy supply in the European corporate bond market.

Two state owned corporations, La Poste and Adif Alta Velocidad, this week avoided paying the wider new issue premiums that many corporate issuers have been forced to concede.

Technicolor, the French media company, has raised a €375m five year incremental term loan maturing, which is due to be syndicated in the coming days.

Credit Mutuel Arkéa issued a covered bond for the first time since June 2013 on Wednesday, but despite its rarity, it was compelled to offer a wide spread given the weak market conditions.

Finnvera took its first ever billion sized bite of a core currency bond on Tuesday, enticing investors with a juicy pick-up over its sovereign’s curve.

Natixis has promoted its former head of aviation, export and infrastructure finance in the Americas to a global role.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, priced a €2bn three tranche bond on Monday — a large slice of the day’s activity as issuers kept up strong supply in a heavy-feeling European corporate bond market.

Société Générale has appointed a new chief executive officer of SocGen Americas and chosen a new head of global finance for United Kingdom.

France’s state postal service La Poste priced a €250m tap with relative ease on Monday, as corporate investors put in orders for a name considered an agency by some. La Poste is rated A/A+.