Lloyds Bank

Severn Trent, one of the UK’s three listed water companies, is looking to sell US private placements via its holding company, according to market sources. This is the first PP transaction from a UK water company since regulator Ofwat set out a new price review for the sector in December.

US bond market tourists poured into high grade euros this week, where tiny concessions and a cheap overall cost of funding saw a string of successful trades.

US tourists are flocking to Europe's high grade corporate bond market this week with Reverse Yankee deals. General Motors Financial was the latest with a six year trade on Wednesday.

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, the UK utility, opened books for a senior and subordinated sterling bond issue on Monday, as the mandates from last week start to trickle through to investors' screens.

C&C Group, the Irish drinks manufacturer and distributor behind brands like Magners, is set to debut in the US private placement market in the coming weeks, according to market sources.

High grade corporate bond investors in Europe will have a range of names to pick from in the coming days, as US white goods maker Whirlpool mandates for euros and UK utility Welsh Water hires banks for a dual tranche sterling deal.

Volkswagen Financial Services and United Utilities Water hit the sterling bond market this week to print £650m of debt. Issuers are finding a warm reception in the currency, despite the UK having left the European Union last Friday.

Volkswagen Financial Services hit the sterling market on Monday, with the issuer seeming to print at a low single digit new issue premium as the primary market remains heavily weighted in favour of borrowers.

Credit Suisse secured the lowest spread for a Yankee bank referencing the secured overnight financing rates (Sofr) on Thursday, breaking the previous record set just over a week ago.

Lloyds Bank and National Australia Bank issued two very well received Sonia linked sterling covered bonds this week, taking advantage of demand spotted in a deal issued by Royal Bank of Canada last week.

Lloyds Bank returned to the sterling covered bond market on Monday with its first deal of 2020. It capitalised on the scarcity of short-dated Sonia supply with the first three year bond from a UK issuer in six months, which helped it to price its deal marginally inside fair value.

Syndicate bankers argue that financial institutions will need to pay a premium to access the bond market in the next couple of weeks, as investors fret about the potential impact of the outbreak of coronavirus in China.