NatWest Markets

Issuers benefited from ideal market conditions for senior unsecured trades this week, with spreads rocketing inwards following the European Central Bank’s decision to cut rates last week. While the sharpest part of the rally may be over, issuers are expected to enjoy an easy ride for the foreseeable future as syndicate bankers expect spreads to grind even tighter.

General Electric is the world’s biggest bond issuer, and usually one of the US issuers that comes most frequently to European markets — partly to diversify its funding, and partly because it has European-based businesses to finance.

RBS’s arch-integrator is close to finalising his plans for the bank’s new corporate and institutional bank, writes David Rothnie.

Brussels Airport, which issued a €500m seven year bond last June, will issue a new sub-benchmark deal this week, prompted by reverse enquiry.

With senior FIG spreads moving tighter following the announcement of rate cuts by the European Central Bank last week, Intesa Sanpaolo was able to benefit from the ensuing hunt for yield on Tuesday to draw a hefty order book. In contrast, Finnish bank Pohjola struggled to tighten pricing on a five year senior print, though the UK’s Bupa benefited from its rarity to breeze through a sterling print.

British Telecommunications broke its long abstinence from the European bond markets on Tuesday, with a €1bn deal that was as enthusiastically received as bankers had long predicted the issuer’s return would be.

The Asian syndicated loans industry is bracing itself for the return of Indian power companies, with Khopoli Investments, National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) and Power Finance Corp looking to tap the market for a combined $705m.

ICICI Bank made the most of the voracious post-election appetite for Indian credits to price a $250m tap of its 4.8% 2019s inside where the existing bond was trading on May 29. It was the first time that an Asian issuer had achieved such a feat, according to bankers.

Guernsey could follow Jersey into the capital markets, with the bailiwick’s treasury minister considering a debut deal following Jersey’s inaugural debt sale this week. If Jersey’s more than twice oversubscribed debut is anything to by, Guernsey can expect a warm welcome.

ICICI Bank made the most of the voracious post election appetite for Indian credits to price a $250m tap of its 4.8% 2019s inside of where the existing bond was trading on Thursday. It was the first time that an Asian issuer has achieved such a feat, according to bankers.

Financials shrugged off a short week to print €4.5bn of senior euro debt in just two days, as issuers looked to hit the market ahead of next week’s ECB meeting. The promise of more attractive new issue premiums than in recent weeks helped to buoy the trades, with issuers showing growing willingness to pay up slightly to grab investors’ attention.

An innovative new UK guaranteed bond sold last week is set to be one of the main price points when the States of Jersey prints its debut bond, people familiar with the discussions have told GlobalCapital.