North America

In this special round-up on China’s annual Two Sessions parliamentary meeting, the government does not set a growth target for 2020 but raises the budget deficit to at least 3.6% of GDP. It also plans to issue Rmb1tr ($140bn) of special ‘anti-pandemic’ treasury bonds.

After nearly two months of persuasion, Mexican petrochemicals company Grupo Idesa received the approval of its bondholders to push out some $300m of international bonds by six years and give major relief to its liquidity situation.

Safety measures to respond to the coronavirus threat are forcing a rethink of office space at financial firms. And in the long-term, banks are set to reconsider their physical footprint and how much work can be carried out remotely, according to managers and experts.

European banks are expected to hit the dollar market in force over the coming weeks as they look to take advantage of an extended rally in spreads.

Pfizer was at its opportunistic best this week as it issued $4bn of notes that included the lowest ever coupon on a corporate five year bond.

Citi picks Nick Darrant as syndicate head — And it sets up new sustainability and science units — JP Morgan reveals next layer of DCM, ECM and M&A bosses

A supranational and a Nordic bank paid rare visits to the Swiss franc market this week. The North American Development Bank (NADB) printed its first deal in two years — its second green bond — while Nordea returned after a five year absence.

Dollars was the favoured currency for public sector borrowers for the second week running this week, giving attractive funding conditions for euro borrowers amid strong investor demand, particularly in the 10 year part of the curve.

Isaac Deutsch, who led Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation's Americas specialized finance division between 2012 and 2018 before becoming the firm's deputy Americas CEO, is said to have departed from the bank earlier this week.

Credit Suisse’s plan to launch a private credit opportunities fund has been undermined by a spying scandal, the departure of Jim Amine, and Covid-19, writes David Rothnie.

Chinese IPOs in the US came under renewed pressure this week after the US Senate passed legislation that could ban mainland companies from its stock exchanges and the Nasdaq said it intends to tighten the screws on regulations around listings. Jonathan Breen reports.

New York Stock Exchange-listed online gaming company Sea tapped equity-linked bond investors for $1bn this week, following a surge in its share price after it reported strong first quarter earnings.