Monte dei Paschi

Italian banks rushed to make use of favourable market conditions this week, with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and UBI Banca bringing new deals and Fineco Bank lining up an additional tier one (AT1). The window opened after the EU and the Italian government settled their scrap over the latter's budget targets, but market participants fear it won't stay open for long. Daivd Freitas reports.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was selling senior debt in euros on Thursday and UBI Banca was marketing tier two bonds, after the pair came rushing into the market to take advantage of a favourable backdrop for Italian credits.

Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) achieved a strong result for its first Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite (OBG) since 2015, sending a strong signal to investors, and particularly those of its struggling subordinated bonds.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is planning to wait until next year to meet a European Commission requirement to issue a tier two bond, beyond the original deadline.

Rating: Baa3/BBB/BBB

Italy found strong demand for a surprise syndicated tap on Thursday — despite a fresh and steep sell-off across its curve throughout the day — proving the peripheral sovereign had access to the capital markets even during extremely difficult conditions.

The price of Italian bank shares and bonds rose on Monday morning after local media reported that the government was weighing up extraordinary measures to help the embattled lenders. The next few weeks are crucial for the banks, with the release of stress test results and third quarter earnings.

Italy replaced €3.8bn of a short dated BTP Italia with longer dated conventional BTPs on Thursday, but against a backdrop where its bond yields were once again on an upward trajectory.

Italy will give investors the chance to swap out of its earliest maturing BTP Italia for longer dated nominal bonds on Thursday as it attempts to reduce the size of the €20.5bn issue. The deal comes amid a calmer backdrop for BTP yields than over the last few months — a factor that helped determine the timing of the exchange, said one of the leads.

Burkhard Balz, a member of Deutsche Bundesbank’s executive board, warned on Monday that certain tools to support struggling banks, such as precautionary recapitalisation and liquidity provision, should be used sparingly.

Capital markets in Italy were plunged into an inferno of uncertainty this week, as investors appeared to lose confidence in the country’s economy and banks following the government’s release of its proposed budget, write Sam Kerr and Jasper Cox. Banks and companies looking to raise equity or debt face a tricky time.

Italy’s announcement that it plans to overshoot the European Commission’s budget deficit limit has spooked markets at a crucial time for the country’s banks.