Japan

The Republic of the Philippines took advantage of Japanese investors’ hunger for yield with a tightly priced four-tranche ¥92bn ($863.4m) Samurai bond.

Nomura’s wholesale business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa underperformed other regions in the last quarter, with the results coming out after the bank announced it is to scale back trading operations there. But the wholesale division registered a profit overall — a rare occurrence of late.

UBS and Citi trader Tom Hayes was jailed for 11 years for manipulating Libor. But while the trader argued that he was made a scapegoat for the financial crisis, perhaps the rate he rigged is a bigger victim.

Banks in Japan might not be able to copy the structure of SMBC’s debut covered bond, resulting in a lack of uniformity in the market that may cause concern among investors. This stands in contrast to Korea, where banks are now exploring issuing in Korean won as there is a law in place that supports these instruments.

As the market prepares for Libors to end their run as the world’s most prevalent reference rates, there is growing support for the benchmarks to be reprieved.

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has returned to the Samurai market with what the issuer and leads said was the lowest ever coupon in the format.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) sold new five and 10 year senior bonds in euros this week, with only 9bp of difference between the final pricing on the two tranches.

The much anticipated G20 meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and US president Donald Trump in Osaka brought good news to Huawei, US farmers, US high tech companies, and Chinese stock markets. However, key conflicts remain unsolved.

Mexico showed that it still has full access to its regular funding markets this week as Japanese investors gave the sovereign its largest ever order book in the Samurai market, on the way to its largest deal in the currency.

Euro and dollar benchmarks issued by Nordea, Lloyds, Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) and SMBC on Tuesday was a fillip for covered bond market participants suffering through volatile credit market conditions that have caused price expectations to fall.

Securitization investors and traders have told GlobalCapital that CLO anchor investor Norinchukin Bank has taken a step back from both the US and European markets. As Tom Brown writes, some have suggested that the bank’s domestic regulator has voiced concerns about its surging holdings of senior CLO debt.

Mizuho Financial Corp marketed a senior bond on Tuesday, breaking the silence in the financial institutions bond market this week. The issuer attracted €1.7bn of orders, showcasing its established name in a quiet market.