Italy

UniCredit has dominated the headlines again this week, but this time for a better reason. Italy’s largest bank has also been its biggest loser of shareholder value, its shares falling 75% since last summer, as investors have lost trust in the sector.

A day after selling 10% of its Italian online retail investment service Fineco Bank for €328m, UniCredit has this evening launched an accelerated bookbuild of 10% of Bank Pekao, the Polish bank of which it owns 50.3%.

UniCredit’s shares leapt 13.5% today after it declared the beginning of a strategic review of its business after the market close last night. The announcement coincided with the launch of a sale of 10% of one of its finest assets — FinecoBank.

UniCredit has launched this evening a sale of 10% of FinecoBank, its direct, multichannel banking subsidiary, at the same time as opening a strategic review of its business.

The IPO of Enav, the Italian state air traffic control network, has already received enough orders to cover the entire deal, including the 9% greenshoe, a source close to the deal said.

Construction company Salini Impregilo was the second Italian borrower in the high yield market on Monday, as a fortnight of no issuance ended.

Italian gaming operator Sisal on Monday started a roadshow for the all-bond funding of its buyout by CVC Capital Partners, in a high yield market still stunned by the Brexit vote.

Two block trades were successfully placed in Europe this week, including a small stake in Italian multi-utility Hera that was snapped up very quickly on Thursday night.

Bookbuilding for the €805m IPO of Enav, the Italian state air traffic control network, will begin on Monday, July 11, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement late on Thursday evening.

Covered bond secondary market volumes saw a small improvement on Thursday, but with limited supply and continued central bank buying, the market is set to become more technically squeezed over summer.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has become a symbol of Italy’s banking woes, but a private sector salve will not end the lender’s non-performing loan (NPL) problem. A poor performance in the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) 2016 stress tests will only hammer home the size of the mountain left to climb, writes Tyler Davies.

Pirelli, the Italian tyre manufacturer acquired by ChemChina last year, will complete syndication of its loan refinancing this week, according to a lead banker.