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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will prevent its financial institutions from redeeming subordinated bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, putting itself in contrast with other parts of the world, where banks remain free to manage their debt capital as they see fit.

EU finance ministers will call on regulatory authorities next week to be as flexible as possible so that banks can carry on lending through the coronavirus crisis, building on initial moves towards supervisory relief.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary capital markets activity. The North American corporate bond market funded a staggering record $194bn of investment grade issues in March while Europe has also been busy — shaking up the league tables and yielding a surprise windfall for the very largest investment banks.

The Bank of England threatened to use its ‘supervisory powers’ on UK banks if they did not agree to suspend dividend distributions this year and stop paying cash bonuses to staff. The instructions do not apply to the equity-like CCDS instruments issued by building societies.

The loans market has been one part of the capital markets that has perhaps unsurprisingly taken to working from home easier than most. Some loans bankers even see a world after the pandemic where one or two days a week working out of the office becomes the norm.

HSBC has promoted two bankers internally to head up its capital markets business in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

A leading covered bond investor has reacted positively to a series of measures announced by Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ (OSFI) which have effectively provided stable access to emergency funding, including a temporary increase in the amount of covered bonds the country's banks can issue. The move comes after a heavy spell of supply that had sparked concerns that Canadian banks were struggling for cash.

The covered bond market’s reputation for a being a close knit community has served it well during this difficult period with members staying in close virtual contact as they self-isolate at home. On the whole, the experience has proved positive, though it’s clear that some have found it difficult to separate work from play.

Wild swings in emerging market bond prices have been painful for investors this month. It is a problem that banks’ market making capabilities have compounded.

HSBC has put its mass redundancy plan on hold as its seeks to limit the impact of the coronavirus crisis on its staff.

Banks will have an extra year to comply with the latest set of bank capital rules, with the Basel Committee telling the industry on Friday to focus on responding to the coronavirus pandemic instead.

Market participants are already questioning the legitimacy of new ‘expected loss’ accounting rules, with the eurozone, the UK and the US having all now softened the application of their standards for banks during the coronavirus crisis.