Italy

Thom Europe, the French jewellery retailer owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, sold a €190m tap of its 2019s to fund the acquisition of Stroili Group, an Italian peer.

The Bank of Italy announced it would soften application of the capital conservation buffer (CCB) in line with most other European countries, but the move is not expected to relieve any pressure on additional tier one coupon payments.

Italian oil and gas company Eni jostled with four other issuers on one of the European corporate bond market's busiest days of the year as it issued a dual tranche offering on Tuesday.

UniCredit announced three senior appointments in its corporate and investment banking (CIB) division on Monday, naming a new head of CIB Americas, a head of CIB Italy network, and a head of financing and advisory Italy.

Unione di Banche Italiane’s (UBI) €1bn 10 year Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite from Monday was priced tighter than UniCredit’s deal with matching size and tenor, even though demand was lower and the domestic bid greater.

Unione di Banche Italiane’s (UBI) €1bn 10 year Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite was priced tighter than UniCredit’s €1bn 10 year and well through BTPs, though it relied more heavily on domestic buyers.

Saipem, the Italian oil services company, on Thursday priced €1bn of unsecured bonds in a high yield market still looking at a thin pipeline.

A pair of eurozone periphery sovereigns have deals in the pipeline — but could face problems bringing the trades, bankers warned this week.

UniCredit Italy took advantage of constructive conditions and scarce Italian covered bond supply to launch a 10 year on Wednesday. The bank was rewarded with a well oversubscribed order book while paying little new issue premium.

UniCredit Italy took advantage of constructive conditions and scarce Italian covered bond supply to launch a 10 year and got a well oversubscribed order book, paying little new issue premium on Wednesday

UniCredit in Italy has mandated leads for the fourth 10 year covered bond of the week, but unlike the others it will offer a double digit return over mid swaps.

The world’s oldest bank has trodden a 500-year line between the sacred and the profane.