Natixis

Engie, the French electricity and gas company, braved the markets alone as the European Central Bank met on Thursday, with the bigger than expected fresh wave of bond buying announced forecast to keep the rally in corporate credit going.

Nordea Bank took advantage of very attractive conditions in the dollar market this week to price a new senior deal at a spread that was well below the fair value implied by secondary trading levels.

Renault, the French car company, has arranged an up to €5bn short-term credit facility backed by its government, as fierce complaints have followed similar guarantees in other industries.

Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, flattened its curve on Tuesday with a €3.5bn three tranche bond issue that commanded €15.1bn of demand. But European syndicate bankers said it offered no read-across for whether airlines might return to the bond market soon and that their chances of doing a deal were distant.

BBVA surprised market participants by becoming the first bank to issue a Covid-19 response bond in Europe this week. There will be follow-on deals as the format catches on in credit markets — high grade corporates are looking to do deals too — but it is unlikely to be exploited as widely as it has been in the SSA market. David Freitas and Mike Turner report.

France impressed as it received a record €51bn order book and paid a small new issue premium with its first syndication since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sovereign was joined in the long end of the curve this week by two sub-sovereign borrowers as investor appetite for duration grows, with more supply expected to follow.

The Belgian region of Wallonne took advantage of the growing demand in the long end of the curve to sell its first social bond on Thursday, although it had to pay a chunky new issue premium to do so. Elsewhere, Bpifrance received plenty of demand to print €1.25bn with a 10 year trade.

France received its biggest ever order book as it came to the market for a 20 year syndication on Tuesday. SSA bankers say that investors are looking for duration after previously sticking to defensive maturities as the Covid-19 crisis eases.

BBVA on Wednesday became the first European financial institution to launch a bond in the euro market to tackle Covid-19, unravelling the appetite for these type of bonds while undergoing a refinancing exercise.

A pair of French banks visited the five year point of the Kangaroo curve on Tuesday. BPCE raised A$650m of senior preferred paper, while BNP Paribas mandated for a senior non-preferred deal.

France’s Accor, a hospitality company, has signed a €560m short term crisis revolving credit facility, as banks continue to be called upon to support the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Intesa Sanpaolo became the first Italian bank to raise funding during the coronavirus pandemic this week. It offered a healthy premium for its five year senior deal, but the bonds have performed very well in the secondary market.