Germany

The second deal in two days from a Volkswagen entity was never expected to hit the heights of the triple-tranche euro deal the day before. However, Thursday’s sterling trade still received a very strong response from investors.

NRW.Bank has promoted Besnik Berisha to be its new head of funding, with a focus on long term debt.

Volkswagen Leasing took advantage of the positive tone in the quiet corporate bond market to build a huge order book for its €2.5bn triple-tranche offering.

Mutual Energy, an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Belfast, has sold £200m ($256.98m) of private placement notes in its first private debt outing.

The European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) decision to fine five Nordic banks last week has raised two questions: just how consistently will rules be applied across Europe, and is it even appropriate that they are?

The Bank of England on Thursday raised its base rate by 25bp to 0.75%, a move that was widely expected and one that brought next to no market reaction — keeping conditions calm for what could be a record year for SSA sterling issuance. L-Bank added to that tally on the same day with a deal that came 25% above its initial size target.

Investors gave a warm reception to a new €750m four year senior unsecured bond issued by German building materials company HeidelbergCement on Wednesday, covering the deal more than three times.

The merger between DG Hyp and WL Bank has become legally effective and the rebranded entity, DZ Hyp, is now the largest German Pfandbrief issuer.

The Schuldschein market's heavy reliance on car industry borrowers means the prospects of trade wars affecting the sector are worrying investors and arrangers alike.

Daimler raised €3bn on Tuesday with a blockbuster bond offering of three tranches, each of which was heavily oversubscribed. The deal comes in an empty new issue market and is unusually large for this time of year.

Consus Real Estate, the German residential property development company, has completed a capital increase raising €131m to fund new projects.

Conversations about global events in the Schuldschein market are a rarity. In fact, a source of pride for Schuldschein participants is that their market is sheltered from the world, and there is little need to dwell on geopolitics. But there is one global event the Schuldschein market can’t avoid thinking about — a trade war that circles around the automotive industry.