France

Italy returned to the private placement market to print one of the year’s largest MTNs on Thursday. The deal stood out this week, since issuance in the market has started to wind down ahead of Christmas.

Deal arrangers expect that next week will be the last real window for issuance in 2020, with investors set to close down activity from the middle of December.

The European Central Bank has warned that some banks face a sharp spike in the cost of their bond funding, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic begins to translate into credit rating downgrades.

BNP Paribas took advantage of the thirst for duration in the euro bond market on Thursday, offering investors a chance to get hold of long dated non-preferred senior paper.

Equity bankers have predicted a strong end to 2020 for primary issuance as more companies seek to raise capital to take advantage of bullish market conditions in preparation for 2021.

Two public sector borrowers hit the euro bond market on Wednesday, raising what might well be the final benchmark funding of 2020.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the progress French agencies have made in their funding programmes in November.

Erste Group Bank and Société Générale both capitalised on the euro market’s extremely favourable conditions this week, pricing new subordinated deals in line with fair value or even through it.

Sustainability-linked pricing has arrived in the equity capital markets. This is no bad thing.

Schneider Electric, the French electrical systems company, has issued what many in the market are calling Europe's first true sustainability-linked convertible bond, in which the issuer agrees to pay investors more if it fails to meet pre-agreed environmental, social and governance targets.

Alstom, the French manufacturer of trains, trams and buses, has embarked upon its long-awaited rights issue with a fair wind behind it after the recent progress towards a Covid-19 vaccine.

Société de Financement Local (SFIL) was over 5-1/2 times covered as it brought its long-awaited debut green bond to the market on Friday, allowing it to price well inside fair value.