Japan

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) raised $3.5bn from a triple-tranche bond deal in its first outing in the dollar market since November.

The European Investment Bank is set to bring the first five year dollar benchmark from an SSA in nearly three weeks — and only the third since the first quarter — after mandating banks on Monday. The issuer will be joined by a triple tranche trade from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

BPCE was active in the Samurai market this week, selling ¥119.5bn ($1.08bn) of notes, the vast majority of which were in the senior non-preferred format and will be used to finance eligible social loans. The French bank is also drafting a new framework for green bonds and two types of social bond.

Crédit Agricole has sold a Samurai bond to retail buyers, marking the first time it has participated in that market. It is in the tier two format, despite European regulators’ concern that non-institutional investors holding bank capital could prevent the effective resolution of institutions.

Investment company AllianceBernstein says it is focused on the development of the AT1 market beyond the large European banks, as it launched a new financials fund.

The board of directors of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has renewed the contract of chief executive Charles Li for three years.

Larry Thompson, vice-chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, on Tuesday suggested that populist rhetoric in the US might be overshadowing President Trump's strong choices of leaders in independent financial oversight agencies.

The Republic of Indonesia returned to the public yen market on Thursday for a ¥100bn ($913.76m) four-tranche transaction, navigating challenges around emerging markets volatility and its rising dollar bond yields.

Regional Japanese banks have been freed up to invest in loss-absorbing senior debt following new guidance on the regulatory treatment of TLAC holdings. The world's largest FIG borrowers will need to move into the yen market quickly to take full advantage of this new but huge source of investment for their bonds, writes Tyler Davies.

Lloyds Banking Group sold its largest ever senior deal in the yen market this week, after a new ruling from the Japanese Financial Services Agency unlocked demand from regional banks in the country.

Japan receives a renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) investment quota, People’s Bank of China chief backs greater liberalisation of domestic financial sector and RMB exchange rate, and the central bank outlines key objectives for RMB internationalisation in 2018.

Green bonds have become one of the hottest topics in finance, taking their place alongside project finance and China’s Belt and Road as the necessary buzzwords on every investor’s lips. But green financing is more than just a passing fad for Japan’s strongest issuers. In a market defined by a famously rigid investor base, they are attempting to build a market that can be sustainable in every sense of the word. GlobalCapital sat down with some of Japan’s leading issuers, analysts, bankers and policy bankers to discuss where green and social financing is heading.