Natixis

Unédic is preparing to issue its second social bond following its debut trade in the format less than a month ago — itself the biggest social bond ever from any issuer.

Northern Powergrid, the UK energy distribution company, brought the longest sterling deal of the year so far with a 42 year trade on Tuesday, as syndicate bankers say that European investors are keen to see more long duration trades.

KBC Group made use on Tuesday of strong investor appetite for green bonds, launching a callable senior deal with a negative new issue concession.

The coronavirus crisis may have hit overall covered bond supply prospects, but it has provided a silver lining for some banks — such as Credit Suisse, ING and Commerzbank which have all fared well in the covered bond league tables this year.

Spain and SNCF SA announced new euro benchmarks with 20 year maturities on Monday, following the European Investment Bank’s record-breaking effort in the tenor last Friday.

A subsidiary of China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) has returned to the market for an €860m dual-tranche loan.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market saw a steady stream of trades this week, with the bigger than expected fresh wave of bond buying announced by the European Central Bank forecast to keep the rally in corporate credit going.

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.