NatWest Markets

Barclays opened books on a new tier two capital issue in sterling on Friday, as the financial markets looked set to end a volatile week on a positive note.

UK utility Western Power Distribution has signed £845m of revolving credit facilities in a rare deal in the UK market not linked directly to the Covid-19 crisis.

The UK’s Young & Co’s Brewery, a pub chain, has signed £70m of new loan facilities and has become the latest in a quickly growing list of companies to lean heavily on the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility.

Eurofima, the supranational institution that finances European rolling stock, is planning to bring a euro green bond with a 10 year maturity. The European Stability Mechanism kicked off the euro supranational bond market this week with a €1.5bn tap on Monday to complete its benchmark funding needs for the quarter.

The UK Debt Management Office has picked the banks to lead the sale of its new October 2061 conventional Gilt, which will be its second of an unprecedented two syndications in a single calendar month.

Issuers are starting to feel more comfortable with the new normal of wider spreads as a flurry of deals dusted the Swiss franc market, including a rare operating-company level visit from UBS.

Issuance in the financial institutions bond market had a preferred senior flavour this week, with issuers finding this the most cost-effective funding compared with other asset classes. In addition, some of them can use it to fulfil regulatory requirements.

Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, Finland has found a novel way to meet its increased funding needs: private placements. Over the last six weeks, the sovereign has supplemented its regular auctions with €5.65bn of privately placed trades, issuing private debt off its benchmark bond programme for the first time ever.

A bevy of high grade corporate bonds hit screens on Tuesday, as Europe’s syndicate bankers said that “no one cares” about the German Constitutional Court verdict throwing into question the Bundesbank's ability to take part in the eurozone's quantitative easing.

The UK Municipal Bonds Agency has announced the two first councils that will take part in its pooled issuance scheme, although the bonds themselves may well not be issued before the summer.

Banco Santander and Rabobank led senior bond supply in Europe this week, both issuing well-received non-preferred deals while Crédit Mutuel Arkéa went for the preferred format. National champions and other strong banks are lining up to issue while market conditions are conducive for deals, but lesser credits remain on the sidelines.

The European Investment Bank and the Region of Madrid stood out in the public sector bond market this week, with the former achieving its biggest ever order book for a euro benchmark.