Nomura

When the shadowy figure known as Satoshi Nakamoto launched bitcoin in 2009, few predicted that the technology underpinning it would, in a few short years, be hailed as an invention as important as the internet. Capital markets are on the front line for disruption, writes Lewis McLellan.

The dollar market is poised to get off to a flying start to the year in the Nordic region, which hosts all three of this week's scheduled dollar borrowers.

Ireland opened 2018 with a €4bn print deemed “spectacular” by a banker away from the deal, who said that it was priced flat to the sovereign’s curve.

A pair of public sector borrowers blew away the cobwebs in the sterling market on Wednesday, printing a combined £1.5bn.

Ireland is set to become the first SSA borrower of 2018 to print a syndicated bond, picking banks for a benchmark deal to be sold on Wednesday. The German state of Lower Saxony will also come to market on Wednesday.

Nomura has hired Nihal Elkafrawi as head of client coverage for the Middle East and north Africa. She will foster cross-selling opportunities for global markets and investment banking, the bank said in a statement.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi struck an upbeat note on the currency bloc’s growth prospects at a press conference following a governing council meeting on Thursday, but analysts still expect borrowers to enjoy supportive conditions for some time yet. The meeting — and the approaching year end — meant euro supply was thin on the ground, but Iceland did take the opportunity to return after several years away.

Rating: A3/A/A

Iceland was awash with orders on Wednesday for its first deal since 2014, which came alongside a tender offer for the sovereign’s July 2020 bonds.

The likely return of a rare sovereign issuer next week will break the silence in an otherwise quiet market for SSAs in euros, after there were just a smattering of German Lander trades this week. Meanwhile, investors believe that the rising interest rate cycle in the US could have a knock-on benefit for euro borrowers.

Nine years after the rescue of Lehman Brothers’ EMEA and Asian investment banking operations triggered a failed attempt by Nomura to enter the big league of investment banking, the Japanese bank has got the deal bug again, writes David Rothnie.

The Republic of Iceland looks set to bring its first syndication in over three years before the year end, after mandating banks on Wednesday to run a euro trade.