NordLB

The European Commission will allow a group of public institutions in Germany to inject €2.8bn of capital into the troubled German lender NordLB, after finding that its recapitalisation plans conformed to EU rules on state aid.

Corporate bond investors in Europe have enjoyed an “exceptional” year, according to analysts at one bank, with significant spread tightening in all sectors, even though negative yields have become increasingly common again.

Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas hurried to make use of strong market conditions this week, building blowout order books for a pair of new senior deals in socially responsible formats.

BBVA and DNB Bank were both looking to build towards their minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) in the euro market on Thursday, eschewing non-preferred senior issuance in favour of the cheaper preferred senior format.

The European Union sent round a request for proposals (RFP) on Tuesday to dealers ahead of a €150m 15 year trade, following on from the EU’s €20m return to the MTN market last month.

Caixa Economica Montepio Geral (Montepio) mandated leads for the second Portuguese covered bond of the year on Tuesday, and NordLB Luxembourg has signaled its intention to press ahead with its debut renewable energy covered bond following a roadshow.

The short end of the euro curve is becoming the new sweet spot for public sector borrowers, according to SSA bankers, despite the deeply negative yields in these maturities. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (Ico) and Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) are all enjoying strong outings with three or five year tenors this week.

JP Morgan changes line-up for energy and utilities, multi-nationals, UK ECM and UK M&A — UniCredit swaps out CEE investment bank head — Pigasse exits Lazard

Instituto de Crédito Oficial (Ico) and Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) found strong demand in the short end of the euro curve on Wednesday, which SSA bankers are calling the new sweet spot, despite the deeply negative yields.

NordLB has promoted a public sector fixed income analyst to its origination desk, covering supranationals and agencies.

The risks associated with issuing at negative yields will drive non-European issuers away from the euro covered bond market, according to a report from NordLB.

BNP Paribas hires UK advisory head — Créd Ag’s credit unit chief moves to markets role — AIIB hires ICBC loan syndicator.