Nordics

Rating: Aa1/AA+

Norwegian oil exploration and production company Aker BP took advantage of its second investment grade rating, out of three, received in November, to position itself as an investment grade issuer and print a dual tranche five and 10 year deal this week.

The first Kangaroo deals of 2020 from SSAs started trickling through this week, after ANZ blew the doors off the Australian dollar market with a A$3.5bn ($2.4bn) self-led domestic deal on Tuesday.

KfW, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and, in the medium-term note (MTN) market, a German region and a Finnish agency have kicked off the Norwegian krone market for SSAs. Bankers are hoping to extend krone’s impressive form from last year into 2020.

Investors piled into the euro public sector bond market on Wednesday, allowing borrowers to achieve well subscribed order books and minimal new issue concessions for a range of maturities.

Danske Mortgage Bank, Santander UK, Raiffeisenlandesbank Hypothekenpfandbrief and UniCredit Bank AG were marketing covered bonds on Wednesday, steering well clear of negative yields by tapping into healthy demand for long dated assets.

A Dkr6.4bn (€856m) block of shares in Danish renewable energy firm Ørsted reopened the EMEA ECM market on Tuesday evening and attracted huge investor demand for the stock — including from ESG investors.

A strong reception for a five year euro benchmark by KfW on Tuesday was enough to lure in a hesitant flock of public sector borrowers to the euro market as the pipeline stacks up for Wednesday’s business.

KommuneKredit has recruited a senior treasury manager to focus on the Danish agency’s funding and derivatives business.

KfW broke new ground in the sterling bond market on Monday by bringing its largest ever benchmark in the currency. Kommunalbanken is looking to latch on to the red hot market too after picking banks to lead a new December 2024 trade.

Iceland’s banks are expected to launch their first additional tier one (AT1) transactions in 2020, as they push on with optimising their capital structures.

Sweden published a study on Tuesday of the advantages and disadvantages of joining the EU’s Banking Union, highlighting the risk of becoming politically marginalised if it remains outside of the arrangements.