France

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.

The European Investment Bank achieved its biggest ever order book in euros on Tuesday, as it sold its first seven year benchmark of the year.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa paid a 'generous' 7bp of new issue premium for a preferred senior bond on Tuesday, taking advantage of a quiet market to attract attention from investors.

Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil) has launched the first negative yielding covered bond since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in Europe, after linking the use of proceeds from the deal to fighting against the effects of the pandemic.

SIX Group, the owner of the Swiss stock exchange, was in the market on Monday night with a sale of shares in French payments company Worldline. Investors poured into the deal demonstrating their appetite for high quality tech firms amid the economic ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bpifrance became the first French issuer to sell a Covid-19 response bond on Friday, raising €1.5bn.

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Bpifrance is preparing to issue a bond which will be used to provide loans to companies in France to help them overcome the economic difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic.

Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat (CRH) issued the first big seven year covered bond since February on Thursday, attracting extraordinary demand and pricing in line with where recently issued French five year deals were trading. It sent a bullish signal to the market and came after a long series of French financial institution bonds that have highlighted just how practical and market-orientated the country’s banking sector has become.

The European Central Bank’s purchase programme will do little to aid agencies in raising cash in the commercial paper market, making little difference to rising borrowing costs and expanding programmes, according to Jérôme Margerin, head of short-term funding at ACOSS, one of Europe’s largest non-sovereign CP issuers.

Some bank treasury teams are weighing up whether to access the primary market ahead of first quarter results, with bankers suggesting they could take advantage of growing demand amid falling supply.