Loans and High Yield

The UK’s Hipgnosis Songs has increased the size of its sterling revolving credit facility, as bankers say that the coronavirus crisis means many more borrowers will look to increase existing credit lines where they can.

Sanlam Investments has been appointed to manage three Tideway Investment Partners funds, and four credit specialists have moved over from Tideway to Sanlam.

China's MIE Holdings Corp is speaking with bondholders about restructuring its dollar debt, following a missed coupon payment on Sunday.

HSBC has overhauled the structure of its global banking business for the second time in as many years in a push to cut costs and bring its commercial and investment banking divisions closer together.

RBC Capital Markets said it had hired Joe Sayers, a former Yorkshire county cricketer, as head of high yield and loan sales.

Schuldschein arrangers are waiting for large German blue chips to launch transactions, to help ease the market’s reopening after the coronavirus. According to market sources, deals are being prepared and are expected to launch in the next one or two weeks.

GlobalCapital has launched a deal tracker for the Schuldschein market during the pandemic, for readers to follow primary issuance in the private debt market.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to start purchases of high yield exchange traded funds and ‘fallen angel’ cash bonds has boosted the tone in European high yield, with syndicate bankers flagging an open market for the right names and sectors. But issuers remain on the sidelines, and dual-currency companies may opt to tap the dollar market instead.

Official financial lifelines to keep UK companies alive through the coronavirus pandemic are already having a tangible effect. Shares in Redrow, the UK housebuilder, rose 7.5% on Thursday morning after it announced it had been approved to borrow up to £300m from the Bank of England’s commercial paper facility for investment grade companies.

The International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines (Ipev) body has warned funds to take special care over quarter-end reporting and valuation of portfolios, so that marks for sponsor-owned companies reflect as well as they can the devastation of the coronavrius pandemic, rather than the benign conditions prevailing at the start of the year.

Fashion retailer H&M has signed a €980m revolving credit facility to sit alongside its existing main bank line, as the Swedish company becomes the latest to turn to the bank market to bolster its finances during the coronavirus pandemic.

Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) has brought in 21 banks for its debut borrowing in the loan market.