NatWest Markets

Investors brushed off the coronation of a new pro-Brexit prime minister in the UK on Tuesday to pile into a KfW trade and set a new size record for the sterling SSA green bond market.

KfW picked banks on Monday for its first green bond in sterling since July 2015, as it increases the volume of its green bonds under its new framework.

National Australia Bank has hired Ross McEwan as its new group CEO, as the bank seeks to improve its reputation after a damning report criticised its conduct.

The UK’s Bruntwood SciTech has signed a £185m green facility, with the property company planning to use part of the funds to develop specialist scientific workspaces in the north of England.

NatWest Markets, the investment bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, has launched its own environmental, social and governance deposit product, responding to a desire among companies, public bodies and investment firms to invest their cash ethically.

New issue premiums have been widening somewhat in Europe's corporate bond market in recent weeks, but Accent, a UK housing association, priced its debut bond at a level bankers said was tighter than where comparable issuers were trading.

Last week’s tightly priced bond issue by KfW has inspired a slew of issuers to print three year dollar notes this week. The Asian Development Bank was first off the blocks on Tuesday with a new benchmark, while a tight Export Development Canada trade followed the next day.

The UK’s Hyde Housing Association has signed two bank facilities totaling £350m, with the sector again providing business for deal-starved lenders.

Last week’s tightly priced bond issue by KfW has inspired a slew of issuers to print three year dollar notes this week, a banker said. The Asian Development Bank was first off the blocks on Tuesday with a new benchmark, and Export Development Canada and Erste Abwicklungsanstalt are set to follow.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) issued its 60th syndicated bond on Tuesday and signalled a “smooth” start to the second quarter of its 2019–20 financial year, as it printed an inflation-linked tap that was eight times oversubscribed.

KfW tapped its December 2025s for £300m on Monday, with the solid demand for the trade being seen as a good omen for the UK sovereign’s sterling linker tap expected this week.

Two UK housing associations have hit the loan market, with Sovereign signing its first unsecured revolving credit facility and Hyde bringing two facilities totalling £350m.