NatWest Markets

Portugal is looking to take advantage of improving sentiment around Greece with a dual tap — but not every periphery issuer has been able to capitalise on events in Athens.

Jerrold Holdings, the UK mortgage lender, priced a £100m tap of its debut high yield bond, double the £50m it initially sought, on Monday to repay some of its banking debt.

Leeds Building society surprised on Friday by hitting the euro market for a seven year print, the only senior deal in euros from a financial this week.

BHP Billiton priced a €2bn three part bond on Wednesday, paying up on the longest tranche. Bankers said this reflected the recent underperformance of long dated bonds.

Ineos, the chemical company, returned to the high yield bond market on Wednesday with a €770m deal to redeem $775m of notes it issued in 2012.

Gas Natural opted for a drive-by execution for its second hybrid bond, a €500m perpetual non-call nine year, and won a €1.1bn book on Tuesday.

Investors were eager to buy German media company Bertelsmann’s €1.25bn debut hybrid bond on Thursday, and it achieved tight pricing.

Wells Fargo launched its first sterling bond issue in over two years on Wednesday, showing the appeal of euro funding for US banks has faded since January.

Royal Bank of Scotland will complete the sale of its Kazakhstan subsidiary, RBSK, this quarter and further cut its Middle East loan portfolio, amid a re-focus on core markets.

Aluminium company China Hongqiao has received commitments from 10 banks for its $600m loan. The deal, which has five banks at the top, comes even as base metals face tough times amid uncertain demand.

German media company Bertelsmann finished its roadshow on Wednesday for its debut hybrid capital bond issue, and could price the deal as early as Thursday, according to a banker at one of the leads.

Haitong International Securities has signed its latest loan at an increased size of HK$6bn ($774m), driven by strong demand from Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Korean banks.