HSBC

French electricity grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité this week took the record for the largest order book for a new 20 year corporate bond in style when it received €5.5bn of orders. The size of the demand was more than double the €2.3bn book, which had given the record to French tyre manufacturer Michelin three weeks before.

Additional tier one bonds looked to be back in fashion this week when BBVA found success for its fifth euro deal ahead of a busy redemption calendar, and HSBC came to the end of its huge 2018 funding run in the format by entering its home market for the first time.

The World Bank cleared $4bn in the dollar market on Thursday but with spreads very tight, SSA bankers are warning that there is still little margin for error in the currency.

Having said that it would raise $5bn-$7bn of additional tier one paper this year, HSBC was set to hit this target by selling its first ever issue in its home market on Thursday.

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait revived its AT1 on Wednesday, having postponed the deal following a roadshow in March this year. But a modest deal size priced in the middle of final guidance left bankers away from the deal saying appetite did not look overwhelmingly strong.

BOC Aviation made its fourth dollar market outing of the year on Wednesday, locking up $500m from a tightly priced floating rate transaction.

Mapletree Logistics Trust sealed its second overnight fundraising for the year and its largest follow-on offering in a decade on Wednesday, bagging S$375m ($274m) to acquire properties in Singapore.

State Bank of India sold its debut green dollar bond through its London branch on Wednesday, reopening the market for the country’s issuers. But despite being a strong credit, the bank didn’t have an easy time marketing its notes against a volatile backdrop, as sceptical investors demanded a premium for emerging market risk. Morgan Davis reports.

Four Chinese high yield issuers sealed bonds on Wednesday, when a total of nine deals were priced in the primary market in Asia ex-Japan, making it the busiest day in the region in months.

Islamic Development Bank printed its $1.3bn five year Reg S sukuk on Wednesday inside its own curve.

An anonymous letter criticising HSBC’s global banking division exposes its history of underperformance in M&A. But that was never a priority for the bank, which should be more worried about a broader rebuild after the Matthew Westerman era, writes David Rothnie.

Dollar investors gave public sector issuers something to think about on Wednesday, as a pair of SRI bonds had very different receptions. One aggressively priced deal struggled to reach full subscription while another offering some concession grew by a half. World Bank is up next in the currency, though in conventional format, and bankers believe the trade will indicate the market’s direction.