Germany

Pfandbriefe issued by Deutsche Pfandbriefbank on Wednesday and Hypo Tirol on Thursday struggled to find enough demand. Though spreads are not expected to widen, the deals showed investors are more discerning as uncertainty builds ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) asset purchases, which are due to commence in November.

The Inter-American Development Bank and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia only managed to raise small sizes in the sterling market on Tuesday, with the leads on the latter declining to comment on whether the deal was fully subscribed.

Alpha Trains, the rolling stock leasing firm headquartered in Luxembourg, has sold €200m of US private placements.

Santander Consumer Bank was more than three times subscribed for a tightly priced €500m five year preferred senior bond this week — its second offering in the asset class.

Leica Camera, the German camera company, has launched a €50m triple tranche Schuldschein.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Land NRW) mandated banks on Monday for its debut Sonia-linked floating rate note, following its compatriot NRW.Bank, which sold its first trade in the format last week. The region has also decided to no longer use money market instruments for funding and liquidity management.

Corporate, FIG and SSA issuers placed floating rate notes this week, pegged to Euribor, Sonia and Libor. With so many issuers coming to market, bankers are interested to see which other borrowers 'take advantage of the liquidity'.

Schuldschein arrangers have actively prevented US investors from lending in the market over the past few years, for fear of the consequences of US regulators ruling the instrument a bond security as opposed to a loan. But as new arrangers enter the market, the old guard’s ability to protect their cherished loan instrument — and their market share — is in question, Silas Brown reports.

Germany is considering four options for its first green or sustainable bond issue, which is likely to come next year. But this will not mean an increase in borrowing — Germany will finance its climate change investments with taxes.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg has long held the crown as the top Schuldschein arranger, but even as the market internationalises the Stuttgart-based bank has retained its ability to cope with deal flow, as well as push the market beyond its usual borders.

NRW.Bank was well subscribed for its inaugural Sonia-linked floating rate note on Tuesday, with the books closing just one hour after opening.

Demire, a German real estate company, issued €600m of unsecured senior notes on Monday, reducing its average financing costs by 90bp. Investors raised some concerns over the deteriorating German economy and big private equity sponsor Apollo but they lapped up the issue nonetheless.