LBBW

The State of North Rhine Westphalia was flooded with demand for its 30 year euro benchmark on Tuesday as investors braced for the European Central Bank's meeting on Thursday, in which it is expected to lay the groundwork for a rate cut in September.

German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen, which issued the largest ever Schuldschein in late 2015, is set to make a grand return to the market this year.

The State of North Rhine Westphalia mandated banks on Monday for a 30 year euro benchmark, ahead of a highly anticipated European Central Bank meeting later in the week, in which analysts expect the central bank to hint at a rate cut in September.

Financial institutions have nearly already raised as much green bond funding in 2019 as they did across the whole of last year, with LBBW’s funding chief suggesting that the market is still ‘growing on both sides’ as it is seeing more investor demand and issuer interest.

LBBW extended its non-preferred senior curve with a new green bond this week, hitting lead managers' price expectations in spite of soft market conditions.

A banker at LBBW has left its SSA origination and syndicate team to join its FIG debt syndicate, GlobalCapital understands.

Austrian agency Asfinag won a big order book on Tuesday, allowing it to price 3bp tighter than guidance, in a 10 year tenor the issuer hasn't accessed since 2009. Municipality Finance and the German federal state of Lower Saxony will add to the euro SSA supply on Wednesday with a 10 year green bond and a seven year benchmark, respectively.

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, the non-ringfenced arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has made its capital markets debut. The UK bank went private to place short-end paper in both fixed and floating rate formats, ahead of a debut in the public market later this week.

Porsche AG, maker of Porsche sports cars, has returned to the Schuldschein market, on the hunt for funds for research and development into electric cars, among other green projects.

The rally set off European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's assertion on Tuesday that further quantitative easing was possible, if not probable, had reached a level by Wednesday that astonished bankers. Three investment grade companies took advantage that day with benchmark bond issues, while one brought a tap.

India’s IndusInd Bank is paying up for its latest loan, after an aggressive price cut for its previous fundraising in 2018.

A structure developed in the loan market, in which a company’s financing margin can be lowered during the life of the deal if it improves its environmental, social and governance credentials, has crossed over into the Schuldschein market. That raises the possibility it could make the leap to the bond market, write Silas Brown and Jon Hay.