JP Morgan

US banks this week reported stellar returns from trading and underwriting in the first quarter, even as the bottom line was hit by gigantic writedowns and reserves for credit losses, as the economic and financial disruption from the coronavirus crisis took its toll.

Telstra, the Australian telecoms company, printed euro denominated debt through its curve on Thursday, but there is growing concern among bankers that the good times will not last in the bond markets.

Hellman & Friedman-owned alarm company Verisure announced a new European high yield bond on Thursday, the first after a drought of more than seven weeks. The deal is a conservative place to restart high yield primary markets, but bankers said there is appetite for more challenging issuers to come.

JP Morgan scooped up $10bn of senior funding in a four-part deal on Thursday, after becoming the first US lender to report having as asset base worth more than $3tr.

Chinese hotel company Huazhu Group, previously known as China Lodging Group, is asking lenders’ consent to waive some of the financial covenants on a recent syndicated loan.

Bankers working on Akesobio’s IPO are preparing for a tough allocation process as a flood of retail demand for the Hong Kong listing is set to leave little for institutional accounts, said a source close to the deal.

US banks ramped up reserves for credit losses, expanded credit lines and enjoyed bumper trading and debt underwriting volumes in the first quarter, according to results released on Tuesday and Wednesday.

JP Morgan has taken an $820m writedown on its book of bridge loans, nearly halving its investment banking revenues for the first quarter. However, the bank is not hurrying to exit these positions. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said “a couple” of its bridges could be syndicated this quarter if conditions are supportive.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) tapped the Indonesian rupiah market for its latest Covid-19 response bond this week, becoming the first SSA to print a response bond in an emerging market currency.

Banco Santander Mexico showed that emerging market investors are willing to deploy cash in a greater range of credits than just sovereigns as it sharply increased the size of a five-year senior deal on Tuesday. But though the new issue concession was in line with expectations, the deal underscored the new reality of funding conditions for Latin America borrowers.

Akesobio, a Chinese biopharmaceutical firm, has launched an online-only roadshow for its up to HK$2.58bn ($332.9m) IPO amid numerous country-wide lockdowns globally to combat the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Banco Santander Mexico is hoping to become the first Latin American company to issue internationally in six weeks on Tuesday after speaking to investors on Monday about a potential senior unsecured trade.