Intesa Sanpaolo

Italian SME lender Illimity Bank is getting ready to sell its first senior bond by asking investors what sort of a price they would want to pay for the single B rated paper.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena found plenty of demand for a new senior bond in the euro market on Tuesday, aided by growing speculation about the possibility of a merger with UniCredit.

Bank lenders are hopeful that volumes across the typically active central and eastern Europe region will pick up, after what has been a disappointing year. This week Romanian meat processing company Carmistin Group raised a syndicated loan from a range of regional lenders, which is one of only five deals signed in the country this year.

Sub-benchmark deals are not so much of a novelty anymore: a trio of rare names filled their boots with diminutive deals this week, with each attracting bumper demand.

Hera, the Italian utility, had the market to itself on Thursday, as corporate bond supply fell. But syndicate desks were split over whether this week’s roaring demand could encourage other opportunistic issuers to the market well into December.

As benchmark issuance remains on the side-lines, smaller issuers have come out to play, with rare borrowers Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen dell’Alto Adige and Luminor Bank on the hunt for deals Lilliputian in size on Tuesday. A handful of larger issuers are keeping a close eye, and could come to the market with small deals of their own in the coming weeks.

Small transactions reached big audiences in the financial institutions bond market this week, as investors realised they would need to consider buying sub-benchmark supply in order to make the most of a dwindling deal pipeline. Tyler Davies and Frank Jackman report.

Volkswagen led the dollar primary bond market this week as borrowers jumped into a crowded field to find funding ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays.

Italy’s BPER Banca was more than three times subscribed for a small tier two deal on Wednesday, as sub-benchmark transactions prove more popular than usual in the euro market.

Qatar National Bank, by assets the largest bank in the Middle East and North Africa, has raised a dual tranche $3.5bn syndicated loan, one of the largest emerging market loans signed this year.

Inmobiliaria Colonial, the Spanish office real estate company, has signed a €1bn sustainability-linked loan, wrapping up a €2bn fundraising spree from the group.

Cellularline, the Italian smartphone accessories company, has signed a €70m loan facility, with a chunk of the funding destined for M&A activity.