Loans and High Yield

Nomura has put at risk a number of senior bankers in its Americas investment banking operation and refurbished its management team as part of a $1bn plan to cut costs. Senior names in M&A, leveraged finance, Latin America and risk solutions are leaving.

India’s JSW Steel raised $500m in an opportunistic transaction on Wednesday, marking the company’s first dollar bond in two years.

A study presented to the European Commission on competition in European loan syndication found no evidence of collusion and no need for further investigations. Indeed, for most bankers, the balance of power seems so tilted to borrowers that it has helped erode deal documents and yields in recent years.

There is some evidence of investors in the European corporate bond market becoming more price-sensitive this week, with some books shrinking in response to spread tightening. But it is not enough to make hard-pressed investors feel relieved.

Macquarie Capital is hiring a UK co-head, as well as a head of leveraged finance for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Chinese internet data centre provider 21Vianet Group raised a $300m note on Tuesday after bondholders agreed to tender over half of an old $300m bond that will become puttable in a few months.

After issuing a £500m seven year bond in March, Glencore repeated the performance, this time in the euro market. It issued a €500m 7.5 year bond that achieved a similar book size and price tightening. Telecom Italia also issued for the second time this year, after losing its Fitch investment grade rating on Friday.

Senvion, the wind turbine manufacturer, has placed itself in administration, an arrangement it hopes will enable it to keep trading while it negotiates with bondholders and other creditors ahead of a full debt restructuring.

Highly structured bonds backed by loans to airlines in which Abu Dhabi state airline Etihad holds a stake suffered another blow on Monday, as Jet Airways became the third obligation backing the bonds to default. Debt to Alitalia and Air Berlin, also affiliates of Etihad, already defaulted in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Three Chinese property companies battled in the primary market on Monday with competing supply. While high yield issuers have been able to sell bonds at ultra-tight prices of late, the weight of supply has started to force issuer’s to pay more to borrow.

Hong Kong’s Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group has launched a debut offshore borrowing with a $150m three year facility.

The undersupplied European high yield market saw a strong start on Monday, as banks announced new deals from Ineos and Italmatch.