Germany

Deutsche Bank’s additional tier ones surged higher in value this week, after the German lender reassured the market with positive guidance on its first quarter earnings.

GlobalCapital's Silas Brown spoke to Mathieu Chabran, co-founder of European alternative asset manager Tikehau Capital. They discussed how the relatively new private debt market in Europe will navigate its way through the pandemic, who the winners and losers will be in the asset class, and what opportunities may emerge from the dust.

Helaba has been far more active than other arrangers in the Schuldschein market, launching at least three deals after the pandemic struck European capital markets in March. While others told clients to postpone deals until clarity emerged on price and investor appetite, the Frankfurt-based Landesbank has ploughed ahead.

Supervisors are encouraging financial institutions to use all of their capital and liquidity buffers as necessary during the coronavirus crisis, signalling that lenders will be given a "significant" amount of time to restore their regulatory ratios to adequate levels.

The Covid-19 global pandemic is not an unmitigated disaster for everyone, as several companies showed on Monday night by selling new shares to take advantage of the unexpected opportunities that the pandemic has created for them.

US entities of two of the Big Four accounting firms have entered the private placement market. KPMG sold US private placements in early April, according to market sources, while Deloitte is looking to follow suit.

German chemicals and consumer goods firm Henkel cleaned up in Swissies after a 24 year absence this week, while local company SGS ventured out further along the maturity curve.

DCM officials have expressed surprise at the speed with which the market has adapted to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, with issuers able to complete deals quickly and with little extra fuss.

Greece is looking to become the latest eurozone sovereign to sell a seven year syndicated bond, after mandating banks on Tuesday for the transaction.

Schuldschein arrangers are waiting for large German blue chips to launch transactions, to help ease the market’s reopening after the coronavirus. According to market sources, deals are being prepared and are expected to launch in the next one or two weeks.

GlobalCapital has launched a deal tracker for the Schuldschein market during the pandemic, for readers to follow primary issuance in the private debt market.

The private placement market has provided a valuable source of funding in both covered bond and senior unsecured format, German issuers told GlobalCapital on Monday in the wake of a Moody’s report that highlighted the limited use of Pfandbrief for funding commercial lending.