Despite the terrible effects of the coronavirus pandemic on capital markets, the MTN market is open and functioning.

The commercial paper market is emerging as a source of stress as financial markets creak under the pressure of the coronavirus crisis. This happened in the 2007-9 financial crisis too, but this time the strains are different. Market participants want central banks to act.

This week, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times – and despite volatility caused by the spread of the Covid-19, a trickle of MTN issuance has managed to slip through into the market.

The recent fall in the price of oil is having a knock-on effect on non-core currency issuance. While oil dependent markets could take a hit as their currencies weaken, some net importers could benefit from a stronger currency and safe haven flows.

A trio of South East Asian issuers have visited the Hong Kong dollar market in the last two weeks, as a move in the basis spurred demand. Among the issuers was Korea’s state-owned mining company Korea Resources Corporation (KORES), which made its debut in the currency and in the MTN format on Monday.

Only a few issuers braved the MTN market in what was otherwise a week silenced by coronavirus volatility. With deals far and few between, bankers highlighted trades from Lufthansa and the Brussels Capital Region as market standouts.

The European Primary Placement Facility (EPPF), an issuance-as-service platform, has signed up DZ Bank, allowing the German cooperative institution to offer market access to its 250 frequent issuer clients.

MTN deal volumes year-to-date have slumped by nearly a third year on year, falling from $51.6bn in 2019 to $35bn this year. The fall has been particularly pronounced in core currency deals, with deals from other currencies forming a larger proportion of the market.

A pair of Australian sub-sovereigns have made their debuts in the euro market in recent days. An attractive basis swap helped to encourage issuers to sell into unusually strong demand for long dated euro paper.

BMW issued the largest unsecured MTN of the year on Wednesday — outstripped in size only by a €700m privately placed covered bond from UniCredit, according to Dealogic. The trade was BMW’s largest since 2016.

The first bond from the UK’s five year old Municipal Bonds Agency will be launched in the next week or two and, thanks to some tweaking of the agency's operating practices, more are set to follow, writes Lewis McLellan.

Few MTN issuers have so far issued in the Libor-replacing euro short term rate (€STR) format, with deals limited so far to supranationals, agencies and, this week, a sub-sovereign. Some bankers blame the 2017 EU Prospectus Directive for tightening up the rules on adding new indices to programmes, leaving non-exempt issuers on the sidelines.