Germany

Erste Group Bank is lining up its first sustainability bond, as it looks to take advantage of a quiet period for new issuance and a recent back-up in rates.

Germany’s Finanzagentur is holding calls with investors this week to sound out interest for a planned syndication of a 30 year green bond, the sovereign’s third and longest deal in the format.

Muenchener Hypothekenbank (MuHyp) priced the tightest ultra-long dated Pfandbrief in 18 years this week, setting the record a day after Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) priced the tightest covered bond of the year and the tightest Pfandbrief since late 2018.

Deutsche Bank’s investment banking group was among the best performers in a strong all-round quarter for the German firm.

There is a golden opportunity for banks to set a precedent by issuing sustainability-linked bonds across the capital stack, rather than waiting for regulators to finish fretting over the guidance.

Muenchener Hypothekenbank (MuHyp) issued its second ultra-long dated Pfandbrief of the year on Tuesday, flat to the curve and into good demand at the tightest spread for this tenor and longer in the past 18 years.

German open-source software company Suse has announced its intention to float on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, joining the lengthy queue of European companies seeking to go public.

Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) was set to price the tightest covered bond of the year on Monday and the tightest Pfandbrief since late 2018, boding well for two follow-on transactions from Muenchener Hypothekenbank and Natixis Pfandbriefbank.

Europe’s turbulent IPO market has taken its toll on the listing of Synlab, the German laboratory technology company, with the sellers deciding to shrink the size of the transaction after investors refused to budge from the bottom of the price range.

Jumbo, a privately owned supermarket chain with stores in Belgium and the Netherlands, has closed a debut Schuldschein at €200m, according to market sources. New deals are proving popular, as low levels of deal flow cannot slake investors' thirst for assets.

The European Banking Authority has warned issuers against rushing into the sustainability-linked bond market, as it works on deciding whether the structures conflict with eligibility criteria for capital and other loss-absorbing instruments. Despite the warning, market participants are pushing hard to make sure banks are able to issue SLBs in any format, writes Tyler Davies.

Aareal Bank and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBB) issued highly successful Sonia linked Pfandbriefe this week, doubling the supply seen so far this year.