Goldman Sachs

A €30bn debt exchange by Greece’s Public Debt Management Agency began on Wednesday and should help the sovereign boost the liquidity in the long end of its curve, said SSA bankers. But some warned that liquidity cuts two ways, meaning the sovereign’s levels could be more sensitive to any bad news that comes its way — although those working on the deal feel the upside far outweighs that risk, writes Craig McGlashan.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

The social bond market — though still nascent — is rapidly gaining momentum. Three public sector issuers made their debuts in the market this week, all of which met with enthusiastic approval from Europe’s community of dedicated socially responsible investors.

UK debt collector Cabot Credit Management has abandoned its IPO on the London Stock Exchange, blaming unsupportive market conditions.

Emaar Development, the real estate development unit of Emaar Properties, has priced its Dh4.8bn ($1.4bn) IPO below the mid-point of the initial range, valuing the business at Dh24.1bn ($6.6bn).

Borrowers and investors marched on in the European leveraged finance markets this week, pricing €1.5bn of high yield bonds while bankers have been able to tighten terms on new loan deals during syndication. Deals pulled earlier in the week in the US are already a fading memory.

Credit Suisse has seen several senior departures from its Asian equities business, with Nicole Yuen and Ronald Cheung leaving the bank.

Edelweiss Financial Services has added Rp15bn ($229.6m) to its coffers after pricing its qualified institutional placement at the bottom of the range.

Greece has fired the starting gun on its latest debt rehabilitation effort, after launching a roughly €30bn exchange offer for 20 bonds it issued as part of its restructuring in 2012.

Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust is taking another stab at a Singapore IPO after it was forced to scrap the trade in September, returning with a smaller €555.7m ($657.9m) deal.

Swiss telecom group Salt Mobile printed a high yield fixed rate issue on Tuesday, its second deal this year, as it replaced floating rate notes with new bonds. They were priced at the wide end of guidance.

Three issuers launched social bonds on the same day on Tuesday, which is likely a first for the SSA market. They raised a combined €1.5bn across five, seven and 10 years, with two of the deals managing to make dramatic moves in pricing thanks to what one banker called "superb conditions".