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Bank capital deals were firmly off the agenda this week as the FIG bond market followed equities into risk-off mode. Auto financing firm LeasePlan did find demand for an additional tier one deal and Credit Agricole printed an Australian dollar tier two, but otherwise a tense macro backdrop led issuers to stick to senior debt.

Standard Bank printed a $400m 10 year non-call five tier two bond on Wednesday from a book of more than $2bn in a deal that even rival syndicate bankers called a roaring success.

Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) placed a $500m seven year bond on Wednesday inside its own curve and at its tightest ever spread to the Russian sovereign, according to a lead manager on the deal.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Tuesday that a sanctions bill restricting companies involved in Russia's Nord Stream 2 project would come in the “not too distant future”. That left investors wondering how and if this will affect their portfolios as bond bankers dredged up memories of when Nord Stream 1 was on track to print its own international bond through BNP Paribas before capital markets sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2014.

Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK)’s $500m seven year bond drew a book in excess of $1.5bn on Wednesday morning allowing leads to tighten initial guidance, which they said offered a 30bp new issue concession.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky caused upheaval as soon as he took office on Monday, calling for a snap election which may delay the country’s IMF funding, raising a question over the country's ability to refinance upcoming bond maturities.

The Dutch State Treasury Agency (DSTA) has released initial spread guidance for its inaugural green bond, which will be launched via Dutch Direct Auction (DDA) on Tuesday.

Large asset managers have urged the UK to start issuing green Gilts to support the country’s environmental initiatives and broaden the range of assets they can buy. Although the government's Green Task Force recommended the idea last year, there has been little progress since and the country’s Debt Management Office has shown little enthusiasm for the product, writes Burhan Khadbai.

Russian Railways launched the first international green bond from its home country on Thursday, a €500m eight year bond. While many emerging market investors were keen to look at the paper, despite the US considering a new round of Russian sanctions, several green investors disliked the company’s ESG enough to not participate.

Europe's equity capital markets are heading for a crunch. Companies are set to launch a batch of IPOs so they price before investors disappear for the summer. But escalating trade tensions between China and the US threaten to rob them of their chance, writes Sam Kerr.

Complaining about MiFID is par for the course at industry gatherings. But Henrik Normann, president and CEO of the Nordic Investment Bank, told attendees at the 2019 conference of the International Capital Markets Association that the regulatory regime was only there “because the industry has failed”.

A consortium led by EQT Partners has won the auction of Nestlé Skin Health for Sfr10.2bn ($10.1bn), paving the way for what is likely to be the year’s largest leveraged buyout in Europe, and the third largest since the financial crisis, after AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals and Refinitiv last year.