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GlobalCapital is delighted to present the winners for this year's Sovereign, Supranational and Agency bond awards.

Brazilian meatpacker JBS made an apparently impressive entry into the world of ESG debt last week with a well received sustainability-linked bond (SLB). While an SLB is an encouraging first step for a company that has for years been under the scrutiny of environmental campaigners, the KPIs in the deal cover a fraction of the company’s emissions, and the deal shows investors need be tougher on SLB issuers if the format is to have value.

Although some bankers, keen on London life, are scrambling for ways to avoid having to move to the EU, further relocations due to take place this year will help build the critical mass needed for a vibrant pool of talent to emerge in hubs like Paris and Frankfurt.

The EU wheeled out the first syndication for its €800bn Next Gen funding programme on Tuesday. The deal marks the start of a borrowing programme of remarkable size that has taken much planning. But it also marked the start of the EU paying lower underwriting fees than have been standard in the SSA market for a decade. The EU's decision sparked controversy in the market between banks and other borrowers looking to do the same. GlobalCapital takes a look at what is at stake.

The Spac phenomenon in the US appears to be reaching a tipping point, after whetting the appetite of investors over the past year and offering juicy fees to investment banks. As the market in Asia gets ready for take off, firms should be wary of the obstacles they may face.

Antonio Cordero Gomez, chief financial officer of Instituto de Crédito Oficial, spoke to GlobalCapital about the need for continued innovation in the world of ESG labelled bonds, and about Ico’s role in fighting the economic consequences of coronavirus.

As much as everyone would like to put the UK's messy divorce from the EU behind them, it remains a very live topic — especially for bankers who don't want to live in Frankfurt.

Join us as GlobalCapital announces the winners of its Bond Awards 2021 — including our Socially Responsible Investment Awards — in our online ceremony on Wednesday, June 16 at 3pm London time, 4pm CEST, 10am NY time.

Investors had plenty of appetite for a super-high yielding additional tier one from Piraeus Bank this week. Will they still be hungry when Greek banks try and issue large volumes of senior debt for their regulatory requirements?

Countries around the world are announcing all kinds of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated. But access to alcohol may offer the most appeal.

Bloated syndicate teams running bonds in Asia are becoming the norm yet again. But banks and issuers need to show more restraint.

Emerging market fixed income analysts are right to assert that the asset class is well placed to avoid a taper tantrum such as it endured in 2013. That does not mean issuers should not be hurrying up their funding plans.