Intesa Sanpaolo

Qatar National Bank is expected to sign its $3bn loan refinancing in the first week of February, according to a source close to the deal.

Italo, the private Italian operator of high speed trains founded by a former chairman of Ferrari, has announced its intention to float on Borsa Italiana, offering investors a “unique” opportunity to play the high speed rail market in Europe, according to a banker involved.

UniCredit has become the first Italian bank to sell a non-preferred senior bond, clearing the path for further issuance out of the country.

Italian banks are expected to begin issuing non-preferred senior bonds for the first time, after the country’s parliament approved a package of reforms as part of its latest budget law.

Italian gambling company Gamenet Group priced a €72m Milan IPO this week after bookrunners slashed the price and reduced the size at the end of last week.

Special purpose acquisition companies continue to flourish in Italy, with several new vehicles having been launched this year.

Banca Imi is looking to raise €200m of equity capital for a special purpose acquisition company, in partnership with DeA Capital, the alternative asset manager owned by the De Agostini Group.

The Russian loan market is moving towards more unsecured deals with Russian paper company Ilim signing the fourth unsecured deal this year, for $500m.

The dollar tranche of Ülker’s second loan of the year has been priced 20bp tighter than on its first loan of 2017, suggesting the market is swinging in Turkish borrowers’ favour as political noise in the country quietens down.

Saudi Electricity Co’s $1.75bn loan has been successfully sold down to four other banks.

Bonds issued by Italy’s most prominent banks surged in value on Wednesday, after S&P upgraded the credit ratings of 11 of the country’s financial institutions.

Moody's expects Agrokor's creditors to recover at the low end of the 35% to 65% range on average, and that unsecured bondholders will get less than 35% of what they are owed.