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BBVA is the latest large European bank to have suffered a ratings downgrade during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Fitch having moved the issuer’s debt ratings down by a notch blaming a weaker operating environment in Mexico and Spain.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market has started the week on the front foot, with a mixture of deal types for investors to snap up including a rare chance to grab yield on a green bond.

Steven van Rijswijk has been appointed the new chief executive of ING, after Ralph Hamers decided to join UBS. Van Rijswijk has worked his way up at ING, having worked in a number of roles in the investment bank.

Lenders to Wirecard, the embattled German payments company, will have to decide whether to call in its €1.75bn syndicated loan, after its auditor EY refused to sign off its 2019 accounts, which the company announced on Thursday, sending its share price into a spiral. Markus Braun, the company's CEO, resigned on Friday.

It was another scorching day in Europe’s high grade market on Wednesday following further central bank-created exuberance, as investors piled more than €55bn of orders into deals from across the spectrum of ratings and sectors.

State-owned Hungarian Development Bank (HDB) on Wednesday launched a euro-denominated benchmark bond. The bond marks the third entry into the market by the Hungarian sovereign or one of its entities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Covered bond spreads in euros have already recovered more than half of the widening that they suffered through March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic. Market participants are now scrambling to find the bargains as returns vanish once again.

Weaker trading conditions have done little to shake expectations for a new wave of additional tier one (AT1) supply, writes Tyler Davies, with three banks having reopened the market in emphatic fashion this week, issuing €3.1bn-equivalent of debt into more than €20bn of demand.

UniCredit jumped into the euro market to raise senior funding at a pricing level it found much more familiar than recent elevated levels this week, while BPER Banca gave investors their first chance in several months to buy a new issue from a second tier Italian bank.

Conditions in the financial institutions bond market worsened this week but plenty of senior and subordinated bonds still got away. With credit spreads unpredictable, the supply outlook remains favourable, said bankers.

Enexis, the Dutch electricity and gas grid and energy services group, issued its debut green bond on Wednesday and printed the €500m issue through its secondary curve, as a strong rally in utility debt pushes demand into regulated names.

Tom Tailor, the German fashion brand, has signed a €100m loan guaranteed by the federal and regional governments. It has also extended its existing bank line, although the company says it will not be enough to stave off insolvency at holding company level.