NatWest Markets

Low profitability remains the main risk for euro area banks, according to the European Central Bank’s annual report on banking supervision, and with little sign of revenues rising in 2016, more and more financial institutions are turning to technology to cut costs.

HeidelbergCement issued a benchmark high yield bond on Monday that was increased to €1bn and nearly three times oversubscribed.

A postponed deal as issuers clashed in the SSA market left a blemish on a strong week for the improving public sector dollar bond market. But such occurrences may well become the norm as issuers crowd in to narrow windows, writes Craig McGlashan.

Sappi Papier, the Austrian-South African paper manufacturer, sold €350m of secured notes at 4% to refinance its 2021 dollar bond, in a European high yield market that has brought forward its post-Easter pipeline of deals.

There was little sign of post-AB InBev indigestion in the corporate market on Thursday as Energias de Portugal issued a €600m seven year bond.

GlobalCapital announces the results of its Equity Capital Markets Awards for 2015, following our inaugural ECM Awards Dinner, in London on March 16.

UK utility company SSE is in the market for its first private placement since its debut in 2012 and investor appetite for the firm’s paper appears as strong as before.

Barclays plc launched €1.5bn in five year senior debt on Wednesday, as it became the third UK issuer in the last two weeks to take strong investor demand for holding company level funding.

Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Sociale found strong demand at the five year part of the dollar curve on Tuesday, as L-Bank delayed a deal in the same currency and tenor.

In another European healthcare M&A deal, three banks have increased their commitments in a loan which veterinary pharmaceuticals company Dechra will use for a US acquisition.

Royal Bank of Scotland returned to the market for its first holding company senior issue in nearly two years, raising €1.5bn in seven year debt as spreads across the asset class continue to perform strongly.

Sappi Papier, the Austrian-South African paper manufacturer, is seeking to issue €350m of secured notes to refinance its 2021 dollar bond, in a European high yield market that has brought forward its post-Easter pipeline of deals.