Lloyds Bank

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.

Greater clarity over Brexit is allowing UK banks to enjoy a warm reception in euros at the start of 2020, with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets following two of its peers into the market this week.

Nationwide Building Society launched a three year preferred senior bond in sterling on Friday, with the trade’s success coming as 'no surprise' amid a favourable backdrop in the currency.

High grade corporate names kicked off the 2020 sterling market in style this week, with big books and eye-catching trades for the University of Oxford, Clarion Housing and Ireland's Electricity Supply Board.

UK private placement advisers and agents are keen to speak to North American investors about their appetite for debt from UK local governments, seen by many as the next source of growth for PPs in Europe after the central government raised the rate at which it lends to them.