Italy

Italian football club Juventus has finished its €300m rights issue, which is intended to strengthen its balance sheet after an annual loss in 2018.

Italy and the EU provoked indignation this week, when Italy approved the use of public money to rescue Banca Popolare di Bari, a small regional lender faltering under the weight of bad loans. The decision looks likely to join a long list of cases when European Union rules designed to prevent government bank bail-outs have proved toothless, prompting market participants to think the EU has capitulated.

Banks and insurance companies are finally straining to turn capital markets greener. With many having realised there are savings to be had in issuing green senior bonds, the idea of them embracing sustainable capital instruments seems to be just around the corner. David Freitas reports

Italian superyacht maker Sanlorenzo was buoyant in trading on Tuesday after the company made its debut on the Borsa Italiana. However, the stock was under water by the close on Thursday, on very thin trading volumes.

Andrea Enria, chair of the European Central Bank’s supervisory board, has confirmed that eurozone banks will be able to include subordinated debt as part of their Pillar 2 capital requirements. The resulting 90bp improvement in common equity tier one (CET1) buffers could help to offset "unwarranted consequences" from the implementation of Basel III, he said.

Italy is planning to issue its inaugural green bond in the second half of 2020, joining Germany and Sweden, who are also looking to sell their debut bonds in the format next year.

Bank capital experts were taken aback this week after UniCredit suggested that it would use subordinated debt to count towards its Pillar 2 capital requirements — a development that, if copied, could lead to a surge in the supply of additional tier one (AT1) and tier two bonds. It could also help financial institutions offset the negative capital impact of Basel IV. Tyler Davies reports.

The listing of Italian luxury yacht maker Sanlorenzo is due to be priced at €16, the bottom of the initial range, despite a tough market backdrop for IPOs.

Shares in Italian football club Juventus FC have started to trade ex-rights this week ahead of its €300m rights issue, which is expected to price before Christmas to give the club more firepower in the January transfer window.

CVC-backed financial technology firm Sisal Pay is marketing a €530m issue of senior floating-rate notes to finance a merger with Intesa Sanpaolo-owned Banca 5’s payments business. The new venture is aiming to be the next Nexi, another Italian fintech star that listed recently and has had success in the high yield bond market too.

One of Banca Imi's vice presidents of loan syndications in London has joined Commerzbank's international loan origination team in Paris.

Mediobanca was looking to sell its second six year senior bond of 2019 on Monday, revealing its preference for deals in the belly of the maturity curve.