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Sweden’s Alfa Laval has amended its revolving credit facilities, with the heavy industry products maker consolidating two old deals into one €900m revolver.

Italy mandated banks for a new five year to be sold alongside a tap of a September 2050 bond on Monday as it prepares to bolt on a bigger funding programme in order to fund its effort against the coronavirus pandemic. The sovereign will be joined by Luxembourg in the euro public sector bond market on Tuesday.

Europe’s high grade corporate issuers began the week deploying their recent tactic of tightening spreads aggressively during bookbuilding from cheap starting points, with Elia Transmission Belgium ratcheting in its spread by 60bp from initial price thoughts.

Credit Bank of Moscow, one of the few Russian banks to frequently tap the international syndicated lending market, has raised a loan from a consortium of international banks. The deal comes amid an increasing number of Covid-19 infections being reported in Russia, which is now one of the emerging markets with the fastest-accelerating growth of cases.

Dutch port operator Royal Boskalis Westminster has refinanced a €500m revolving credit facility, as analysts warn that the coronavirus pandemic could see world trade plunge by as much as 34%.

European corporates found a strong bond market on Monday after raising a record amount of bond funding last week, as the European Central Bank pours money into high grade debt.

The corporate bond market made a blazing start to Monday with deals for Repsol, Naturgy and LafargeHolcim on screens, as issuers cram what they can into a shortened week.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will prevent its financial institutions from redeeming subordinated bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, putting itself in contrast with other parts of the world, where banks remain free to manage their debt capital as they see fit.

The primary corporate bond market in Europe threw up another blistering day on Wednesday, with seven issuers on screens by mid-morning, bringing the number of deals so far this week to 18, though bond syndicate desks are hesitant to compare this crisis market with the record-breaking issuance in 2009.

London-listed Russian steel firm Evraz has raised a syndicated loan with lenders honouring the pricing terms agreed before the outbreak of coronavirus that has wreaked havoc in markets.

A string of well rated companies are preparing to issue bonds in the coming days, as syndicate desks are heartened by the continued ample demand from investors. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Volkswagen Financial Services and Thermo Fisher Scientific raised a total of €7.85bn in euros today, despite a rocky market.

Market participants are debating whether the risks to additional tier one coupons have risen or fallen after the European Central Bank urged banks not to pay equity dividends for at least six months.