Italy

Kommunalbanken (KBN) are set to price the first five year dollar bond for three weeks on Wednesday while Italy’s 30 year bond was the first SSA issuance in the tenor for 2016.

Italy has sold the largest ever 30 year bond in euros, a trade that is likely to inspire other issuers into the tenor amid what some bankers are calling a key time for the SSA market.

Onorato Armatori, the Italian ferry operator, woke up the high yield market with a four day roadshow on Monday for its €300m debut bond. The issuer was followed by four more announcements.

Italy is set to benefit from a Bank of Japan-induced rally in eurozone government bonds late last week after mandating for a 30 year benchmark on Monday — and bankers suggest Spain could follow with a similar deal.

Credit markets endured another rollercoaster week as persistent nervousness prevailed over intermittent optimism and soured an earlier rally.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena may be the ugly sister of Italian banks for investors, but it’s the Italian sovereign’s favourite son when it comes to primary dealerships.

Last year the Markit iBoxx Euro Banks index was one of the outperforming bond sectors in Europe having returned 1%. The index, which is largely made up of bonds issued by European banks, even managed to outperform defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities, while Europe’s regulatory oversight and relaxed monetary conditions kept market confidence in check.

Asset quality took a turn for the worse in 2015 for Italy’s banks, whose future remains unclear despite newly approved plans for a state-backed bad bank.

Gruppo Statuto’s €59m San Basilio Property minibond has begun trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Italian non-performing loan securitizations will now come with a government guarantee, after months of negotiations between the state and the European Commission resulted in a rather rosy outcome for the country’s banks this week.

Zenit Sgr, the Milan-based investment fund, is working on the underwriting of a minibond by a listed Italian media company that could issue as early as February, sources have said.

Established covered bond investors are often sceptical about conditional pass through deals. The structure allows the maturity of their investments to be extended, perhaps by decades. But they could be safer than long dated bullet deals.