Investors are hungry for duration from Belgian sub sovereign issuers, which are looking to tap the demand and will push further out the maturity curve in the coming weeks, according to bankers. But some of the borrowers are sticking to medium term deals, opting for clips with maturities between three and five years.

Stefan Rinauer has taken the reins at Société Générale’s euro medium term note desk, GlobalCapital can reveal, replacing Ariane Uzan.

Cyprus’s re-emergence into the capital markets this week with a private placement has some public sector bankers pushing for a syndication — a deal which would mark the quickest comeback to issuance from a bailed-out eurozone sovereign. But the escalating tensions over the Ukraine crisis between Russia and the West could dampen the country’s prospects.

Finnish and German municipalities have changed their approach to funding this year. Finnish municipalities are mulling private placements, while their German peers are moving away from the bond markets.

Land Saxony-Anhalt could follow Land Nordrhein-Westfalen’s lead and print more private placements in niche currencies this year, according to MTN bankers. Land NRW sold the first Brazilian real deal from a German sub-sovereign this week.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) is planning to raise up to half of its 2014 funding requirement through commercial paper, GlobalCapital understands, having set up its debut programme earlier this month.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten is considering selling more private placements in Japanese yen this year after selling its longest ever note in the currency on Wednesday. The borrower won’t be short of demand for longer dated notes as Japanese investors are looking beyond their home market, according to MTN bankers.

Auckland Council is eyeing the European private placement market as it plans to increase its offshore issuance in its next fiscal year, a funding official told GlobalCapital.

Municipality Finance plans to become a frequent issuer of 144A bonds in public and private formats and is set to add the appropriate language to its EMTN programme in May.

Belgium's regions and municipalities are set to have an increased presence in the private placement market this year as several new borrowers are expected to debut.

Supranationals and agencies are taking advantage of Japanese investors eager to kick start their fiscal year, which began on April 1, by printing large Uridashi and medium term notes. SSA bankers are urging borrowers to place as many deals as they can before competition from higher yielding classes of issuer increases.

French regions will sell a spate of private placements in the coming weeks despite a sluggish start to the year, according to medium term note dealers. Bankers expect the borrowers to print larger and longer notes than last year.