NatWest Markets

Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil) has launched the first negative yielding covered bond since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in Europe, after linking the use of proceeds from the deal to fighting against the effects of the pandemic.

Bpifrance became the first French issuer to sell a Covid-19 response bond on Friday, raising €1.5bn.

Bpifrance is preparing to issue a bond which will be used to provide loans to companies in France to help them overcome the economic difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic.

Italian-American car company Fiat Chrysler has drawn down on its €6.25bn revolving credit facility to shore up its finances during the Covid-19 pandemic, though the company has left a new bridge loan untouched.

CPPIB Capital, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, dived into the long end of the sterling bond market on Monday for a bumper follow-up to January’s jumbo debut.

Tesco, the UK grocer, found the queues for its sterling bond issue on Monday were almost as long as those for its toilet roll. Pent-up demand for sterling debt meant its £450m trade was more than eight times oversubscribed and priced through higher rated comparable debt.

Dutch port operator Royal Boskalis Westminster has refinanced a €500m revolving credit facility, as analysts warn that the coronavirus pandemic could see world trade plunge by as much as 34%.

Rating: Aaa/AAA

Official financial lifelines to keep UK companies alive through the coronavirus pandemic are already having a tangible effect. Shares in Redrow, the UK housebuilder, rose 7.5% on Thursday morning after it announced it had been approved to borrow up to £300m from the Bank of England’s commercial paper facility for investment grade companies.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

The MTN market is picking up as issuers (particularly corporates and SSAs) and investors find opportunities for attractive deals.

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets spied an opportunity to launch a new senior bond on Thursday, with credit markets performing well despite the tougher backdrop in equities this week.