News content

The gloomy start to the year in global stock markets is casting doubt on plans for equity capital markets issuance in the first quarter, write Jon Hay and Olivier Holmey.

Public sector borrowers enjoyed a storming sterling market this week and, with many of the supporting factors still in place, SSA bankers are confident that more deals will follow.

Borrowers who issued covered bonds this week that are eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme (CBPP3) did not receive such a strong reception as those whose bonds were not eligible.

The principle of pari-passu among bondholders lies dead and buried. The Bank of Portugal’s decision to select only five of Novo Banco’s 52 senior bonds for bail-in last week has established a new precedent for bank resolutions, and what a fine mess it has created.

FIG bankers are already fearing another window-driven year for FIG issuance after the financial markets’ torrid new year took another turn for the worse on Thursday.

National Australia Bank (NAB) priced a seven year Swiss franc note this week, making it the first international issuer in the currency for 2016.

Credit Suisse and UBS dominated Dealogic’s European FIG bookrunner rankings for 2015, helped by their issuer parents cranking up their issuance of holdco and capital instruments.

Turmoil in global stock markets and geopolitical concerns took their toll on European corporate bond issuance this week, but the market is still a long way from pressing the panic button.

The start to 2016’s equity capital markets business in Europe has been tricky, but the action on Tuesday showed that high quality deals can get done very well, provided they come in a suitable window.

Investigators are finally baring their teeth at the bond markets, after dozens of other post-crisis scandals, with a probe into the supranational and agency market that has engulfed four banks.

European high yield specialists hope the continent's market can repeat in 2016 its sharp outperformance compared with the US market last year — but history suggests that the two markets tend not to diverge for long.

If bankers had to put one thing on their Christmas lists it would have been a new year free of disruptions. But it looks like Santa Claus was paying attention to all those conduct fines. One week in and we’re off to a stinker.