Germany

The investment grade corporate bond market has seen a “steady and sensible” start to April according to one investor as it attempts to stabilise following a volatile run through February and March.

The head of covered bond origination at Société Générale is expected to leave the bank this week and is also relinquishing his role as deputy chairman of the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC).

Chinese white goods maker Qingdao Haier said on Tuesday that it plans to float up to 400m D-shares on the Frankfurt-based China Europe International Exchange (Ceinex).

In an action not seen for years, a would-be Schuldschein issuer has been forced to withdraw its transaction when investors refused to participate, even after the lead bank offered much more attractive pricing terms.

The two borrowers that closed out the first quarter with benchmarks have now been examined by the BondMarker voters.

Volkswagen’s real estate arm has been forced to change the terms of its Schuldschein, after investors failed to flock to the deal. A borrower issuing a second round of terms or price guidance is rare in the Schuldschein market, but this happened to Telefonica Deutschland in January.

Commerzbank reset the pricing of its covered bond curve to a more realistic market clearing level with its €500m 10 year on Monday, as Erste Group, HSBC, Axa Bank and mBank Hipoteczny announced deals.

UK ticket printing company Paragon Group returned to the euro private placement (PP) market on Monday, becoming the first non-French issuer to raise Euro PP notes this year.

BMW sold one of the first two trades in the euro corporate bond market in 2018. It took until April to follow that with a five-tranche offering in the dollar market. It waited less than the week then to make its first visit to the sterling market, but found sterling investors in a similarly stubborn mood to that of euro investors.

North American private placement (PP) lenders are being routinely chosen over UK investors by borrowers in sterling, as a consequence of increasing advantages won through cross currency swaps, US PP participants have said.

Volkswagen Financial Services had been conspicuous by its absence in the euro corporate bond market in the first quarter of 2018. Having been the largest corporate issuer by volume in 2017, the company had used other markets so far this year before selling a new triple tranche deal.

Volkswagen Financial Services had been conspicuous by its absence in the euro corporate bond market in the first quarter of 2018. Having been the largest corporate issuer by volume in 2017, the company had used other markets so far this year before selling a new triple tranche deal.