France

A proposed French law may incentivise owners to take out loans that improve the energy efficiency of their homes, which could boost green mortgage production and green covered bond issuance.

French banks and foreign rivals are slugging it out in France’s corporate finance boom, where proximity to the government is an advantage, writes David Rothnie.

French electric utility company Engie has raised €538m from the sale of Gaztransport Et Technigaz (GTT) shares and exchangeable bonds.

Aramis, the French company that specialises in online car sales, has launched an IPO on the Paris stock exchange. The deal already has some interest from investors, but sources say the IPO market is getting increasingly hard, with investors taking longer to put in orders and heavily scrutinising deals.

BPCE re-established confidence in the primary covered bond market with a successful €1.5bn nine year green transaction on Tuesday, opening the way for other issuers planning deals.

UBS Group made a swift return to the dollar bond market on Tuesday, as it went in search of an additional tier one transaction a day after raising $3bn of senior unsecured debt.

Europe’s IPO pipeline is set to grow this week with new deals being launched and some live deals scheduled to open books, but banks acknowledged that execution conditions were difficult, given heightened equity market turbulence.

Volatility subsided amid a series of public holidays in Europe on Monday, raising hopes for a busier week of bank bond supply.

Large European banks shifted their funding focus to the dollar market this week, printing stunning deals as the euro market showed it was more sensitive to signs of tighter monetary policy. Tyler Davies reports.

Crédit Agricole asked holders of its sterling additional tier one (AT1) to exchange their bonds for new notes on Thursday, which will recognise the regulatory order after Brexit and will reset the debt to pay to a rate based on Sonia rather than Libor.

French hotel landlord Convivio Hotels has launched a €250m rights issue ahead of the reopening of EU countries to foreign tourists this summer.

The SSA sterling market has enjoyed its busiest week for two months, with three borrowers coming to market. More could be set to follow if conditions remain tranquil.