Italy
-
Loan bankers are demanding clarity on the true ownership of the 19.5% stake in Rosneft privatised at the end of last year, as Intesa Sanpaolo prepares to syndicate the €5.2bn loan it has provided to back the deal, write Dan Alderson and Jon Hay. -
Shares in UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, closed 1.7% lower on Thursday after it unveiled the terms for its fully underwritten €13bn recapitalisation late on Wednesday.
-
UniCredit underscored weaknesses in its balance sheet and capital position on Monday, issuing investors with another series of warnings ahead of its planned €13bn rights issue.
-
Spain added another entry to its growing book of blockbuster trades this week, using a novel early-bird feature to help drum up demand for its traditional 10 year annual opener. The deal came as Italy’s spread over Spain widened, despite a court ruling that analysts said should be positive for political stability in Italy in the near term.
-
Italian infrastructure holding company Atlantia followed on from a Wednesday investor call with a benchmark eight year trade on Thursday.
-
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena issued €7bn of state-guaranteed bonds this week, as the ailing Italian lender looked to sure up its funding position ahead of an expected “precautionary recapitalisation”.
-
UniCredit has appointed a new global head of financial institutions group as it looks to bolster the sector’s importance within its corporate and investment banking division.
-
-
US President-elect Donald Trump left market participants dumbfounded by saying that the dollar is too strong just a few days before his inauguration on Friday — a position he won after a campaign promising infrastructure spending and tax cuts. But while Trump’s ability to disrupt markets is likely to be a feature of the next four years, the start of an unwinding of the ‘Trump trade’ could help public sector borrowers bring 10 year deals to a red hot dollar market, writes Craig McGlashan.
-
Euro bonds at the 10 year maturity and beyond have proven difficult so far in 2017, but a strong performance from the European Investment Bank may have shown other issuers what it takes to pick up size at long maturities.
-
Despite corporate close periods limiting the scope for equity block trades this week, a fistful of sellers came to the market this week, many of them to sell stocks that floated last year.
-
Italy on Wednesday produced an almost carbon copy trade of Belgium’s 10 year euro benchmark from earlier this week, printing €6bn as its curve tightened in the background — although with a longer dated bond.
