Germany

Chemical and consumer goods firm Henkel has signed a €1.5bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, with leads claiming the deal is the first of its kind in Germany.

A revolution is occurring in the Schuldschein market. This sedate and sober instrument has shaken its fusty reputation and transformed into a bustling hotbed of technological progress. Seven digital platforms sprang up in 2018, each declaring a grand ambition to drive efficiency. But with platforms jockeying for position, under the eye of the German regulator, some question the rate of change and the authenticity of some agents of it.

China has rolled out trade concessions to the United States, signalling a willingness to negotiate before the trade war gets out of control. But it has also increased its rhetoric over the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada.

KfW will look to begin its benchmark funding earlier than normal in the new year, amid expected volatile market conditions.

KfW has ramped up its funding volume for next year to its highest level since 2011, the agency said on Tuesday.

Issuer rating: A2/A

European borrowers that flit between public and private debt have been choosing the Schuldschein market because of its comparatively tight pricing in the last few months but this week Freenet, the German telcoms firm, sweetened the terms it was offering investors.

Tritax Big Box, the London listed industrial real estate investment trust, has sold £400m worth of 10 and 12 year US private placement notes, during the Brexit whirlwind that caused sterling bond markets to falter.

German business software company SAP used its rarity value when it printed a €1.5bn triple tranche deal in March. However, that strategy may no longer be possible, after it sold the largest ever corporate bond priced in December to help fund its recently announced €8bn cash acquisition of experience management software provider Qualtrics.

Frankfurt-based Eurex Clearing on Thursday announced that 24 firms had signed up to take advantage of its new partnership programme for repo market participants.

On Monday, the euro corporate bond market delivered its largest ever deal in December. However, on Tuesday, there was no follow-up and the dramatic fall in global equity markets has led some investors to call the end of 2018 from a new issue perspective.

Germany will head covered bond supply in 2019 with high redemptions and a booming housing market set to fuel volumes.