Loans and High Yield

The green bond market is going through one of its most intense periods, with a wide variety of high profile issuers joining the market. But there are also hints of novelty in the market. The Netherlands and KfW have used systems for classifying green investors, while Germany is considering a radical idea: whether Bunds could be issued with detachable green certificates. Jon Hay reports.

French supermarket chain Casino and its holding company Rallye requested a suspension of trading across shares and bonds on Thursday, pending a release from the company. The move follows the group’s decision to pay a €52m dividend on Wednesday, despite the deteriorating liquidity position at the group.

Vehicle leasing firm LeasePlan Corporation issued its debut additional tier one capital on Thursday, a rare move for a firm outside the conventional banking sector. Pricing of the €500m perpetual non-call five year was not tightened from initial price thoughts.

GlobalCapital revealed the winners of its 2019 Bond Awards at its annual Bond Awards Dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on May 22. The complete results are below. GlobalCapital congratulates all the winners and nominees.

BNP Paribas has appointed Bruno Villard as head of M&A for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

High yield property company Kaisa Group Holdings sold its third dollar bond of the year on Wednesday, riding on the high of its recent rating from Moody’s to raise $400m.

Genuinely new corporate high yield issuers have been vanishingly rare in 2019, but German car interiors maker Novem is bucking the trend with the €375m first time dividend issue it has been marketing this week.

JP Morgan has named a new leadership team for its EMEA leveraged finance operations, following the retirement of Kristian Orssten, a 25 year veteran of the firm.

Bank of America is covering more clients than ever in a quest to overhaul its rivals at the summit of the league table rankings, spelling further bad news for European banks, writes David Rothnie.

The corporate bond market took on a distinct green tinge this week - something that is becoming more and more common. Green bonds are reaching an ever wider spread of issuers - though not yet oil group Total, out on Wednesday with a euro and sterling three-trancher, nor defence group Thales, which issued on Tuesday.

Three Chinese borrowers sold perpetual notes on Tuesday, raising a combined $900m from the rare structure.

Norkse Skog, the Norwegian paper manufacturer subject to one of the bloodiest restructurings in European high yield this decade, is ready to test the market again, just over a year after Christopher Gate’s Oceanwood Capital Management took over the troubled company.