Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank has hired a banker from Nationwide Building Society to work in its corporate treasury team.

Senior bank debt investors in Europe are losing their right to accelerate payments of interest or principal. The process has been gradual, low key and at times even overlooked, but it is one of the most fundamental developments in the recent history of the senior bond market.

Clare Francis, head of global corporates at Lloyds, is to leave the UK firm.

Aubrey Simpson-Orlebar has joined Tim Metzgen’s corporate debt advisory team at Marlborough Partners as a senior advisor.

General Motors Financial Co made its first journey of the year to the euro bond market on Wednesday, issuing a €1bn four year floating rate note.

The revival of sterling bond issuance powered ahead on Thursday, as Procter & Gamble brought a £750m deal that one banker said was “as rare as Halley’s Comet”. That coincided with a £1bn covered bond from Santander and a £400m debut from Martlet Homes.

Unibail-Rodamco has signed today its green loan, one of the first syndicated facilities to offer the borrower a pricing benefit if it hits sustainability targets. The loan was increased twice in syndication after being oversubscribed, from €500m to €600m and then to €650m.

Drax Group, the UK energy holding company, held a roadshow on Wednesday and Thursday for a £500m fixed and floating rate senior secured bond offering, following its acquisition of Opus Energy earlier this year, and further increased it to £550m on Friday.

Hard on the heels of Unibail-Rodamco’s ground-breaking green loan, believed to be the first large corporate financing to give the borrower a pricing benefit if it hits sustainability targets, Koninklijke Philips, the Dutch health technology group, has signed a similar €1bn loan linked to its sustainability rating, writes Jon Hay.

Rare covered bond issuers from Portugal and Spain made a surprise return to the market this week after long absences with transactions that, under the circumstances, were very well received.

UK hotel group Travelodge and social care firm Voyage Care both started roadshows on Wednesday for £165m and £250m of notes, respectively.

Banco Sabadell enjoyed a strong reception for its €1bn 10 year Cédulas which was priced on Wednesday, partly reflecting the paucity of Spanish covered bond supply, especially at the long end of the curve.