France

Caisse de Refinancement de l’Habitat has mandated leads for eight and 15 year covered bonds, the same maturities that BPCE chose earlier this month with great success. The two deals will be eagerly watched for size of the European Central Bank's order.

Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) added to the sterling market's fast start to the year on Thursday, launching a new preferred senior bond in the currency and awarding investors with a small new issue premium.

A trade in Orpéa that mixed an auctioned block trade with a wall-crossing process left equity capital markets players bristling this week. But while some bankers disliked the method of bank selection, others told Sam Kerr and Aidan Gregory that the process worked for the issuer and investors.

BPCE, Credit Mutuel Home loan (CM-CIC) and Axa Bank issued French covered bonds this week with Axa issuing its first transaction under a new and lower rated Belgian ownership structure.

Credit Mutuel Home Loan SFH (CM-CIC) completed a busy week in the euro covered bond market with a €1.25bn 10 year offering on Thursday. The deal emerged amid growing concern that euro covered bond supply will fall, as borrowers like SCBC, Danske Bank and Nordea turn to local currency markets, while others see better alternative funding opportunities, or simply bide their time.

Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale has a €4bn funding programme lined up for 2020, matching the total it raised in 2019.

ABN Amro made its first ever sale of non-preferred senior debt on Wednesday, as European banks give investors plenty of opportunities in add exposure in the asset class at the beginning of 2020.

Reden Solar, a French company that constructs and manages photovoltaic power plants, has sold a green euro private placement (PP).

In this round-up, state buyers are set to bail out Shandong-based Hengfeng Bank, the renminbi’s international usage rebounded in November after a slight drop in October, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s securities brokerage affiliate plans to set up a wholly-owned China unit.

French water and waste management and energy services company, Veolia Environnement, bagged Rmb1.5bn ($215m) from a private placement Panda bond issuance last Friday.

The Swiss franc bond market has been able to withstand — just — the destructive forces of negative rates and yields and is looking forward to a new year in which green structures are set to blossom. Philip Moore reports

Specialisation could define MTNs in 2020 as the market looks to differentiate itself from public markets where borrowers are easily executing large, cheap, liquid benchmarks. MTN dealers’ change of focus is shaking up the league tables. Frank Jackman reports