Ireland

Allied Irish Banks was in a generous mood on Thursday, launching its first tier two since the crisis at a much higher premium than rival bankers thought necessary.

Financial institutions have begun a final push for funding as year-end approaches, with investors still looking to boost returns with higher beta purchases.

Allied Irish Banks revealed a 90bp jump in its fully-loaded common equity tier one ratio on Tuesday, and wasted no time in mandating banks for a highly anticipated tier two deal.

FCA Bank, the financing joint venture of Fiat Chrysler and Crédit Agricole, issued a €500m no-grow bond on Monday.

Bank of Ireland and Caja Rural Unidas issued this week’s only two covered bonds from Europe’s periphery, both offering attractive concessions.

Bank of Ireland returned to the euro covered bond market for the third time this year to raise €750m on a comfortably oversubscribed book. Though cheap by historical standards, the hefty new issue premium left some unconvinced about the market outlook.

Italy blew the doors off the market with the first eurozone periphery sovereign benchmark in a month. And with extra explosives from the European Central Bank, it may have blown a hole big enough for its peers to pile through, writes Craig McGlashan.

A eurozone sovereign wrapped up its funding programme for the year by cutting borrowing costs at its first auction since moving within touching distance of fully single-A status.

A eurozone periphery sovereign is set to meet investors before a possible euro syndication, as a pair of countries from the region unveiled their funding plans for the rest of the year.

Spain’s borrowing costs dropped to their lowest levels since spring at an auction on Thursday, rounding off a week where the country outperformed its nearest peer in secondary markets.

Pentair, the UK-headquartered maker of fluid and thermal systems, priced a €500m bond in line with initial price thoughts on Monday, after deciding to plough ahead with its funding plans despite a difficult market.

Pentair, the UK-headquartered maker of fluid and thermal systems, priced a €500m bond in line with initial price thoughts on Monday, after deciding to plough ahead with its funding plans despite a difficult market.