France

Safran, the French aerospace and defence company, has joined the long list of companies that have tapped the equity-linked market for funding during the Covid-19 global pandemic, by placing a new €800m convertible bond on Tuesday.

Five public sector borrowers are marketing dollar bonds across the curve kicking off what it is expected to be a busy week in the currency.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, May 4. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

France is looking at conducting a large syndication this month as it looks to finance a much bigger funding programme, according to SSA debt capital markets bankers.

Unédic, the French agency responsible for providing the country's unemployed with social benefits, has had to ramp up its borrowing programme for 2021, thanks to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Caffil this week issued the first Covid-19 covered bond, securing vital funding for French hospitals to fight the pandemic. The deal emerged just as public sector borrowers, such as the German Laender, face mounting funding needs to cope with the pandemic, sparking debate over whether the hitherto moribund public sector Pfandbrief market could provide a vital source of cash, writes Bill Thornhill.

The European Central Bank’s press conference on Thursday did not provide the headline fireworks that its last meeting did. The sombre tone caused “disappointment” among investors and a slight widening of peripheral spreads. SSA issuers were also left dissatisfied with the bank’s lack of support for the money markets.

Banco Santander and Rabobank led senior bond supply in Europe this week, both issuing well-received non-preferred deals while Crédit Mutuel Arkéa went for the preferred format. National champions and other strong banks are lining up to issue while market conditions are conducive for deals, but lesser credits remain on the sidelines.

Rating: Aa3/—

The European Investment Bank and the Region of Madrid stood out in the public sector bond market this week, with the former achieving its biggest ever order book for a euro benchmark.

Equities have made a stirring recovery since the record coronavirus sell-off in March. Corporates, looking to raise cash by any means necessary to survive the crisis and lower their risk, have taken advantage of the uplift, selling non-core equity holdings. Now, more are being urged to get in on the trade while it lasts, as there are fears that stock markets will plummet again if lockdowns or infections worsen with the pandemic far from over, writes Sam Kerr.

A €1bn five year covered bond issued on Tuesday by Caffil, that was designed to provide funding for French hospitals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, has demonstrated that the market for public sector covered bonds, which has been in decline for more than a decade, could now be reinvigorated. Higher local authority spending could well find its way into the cover pools of French and German covered bond issuers, the head of treasury and financial markets at SFIL, Caffil's parent organisation, said on Wednesday.