North America

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary capital markets activity. The North American corporate bond market funded a staggering record $194bn of investment grade issues in March while Europe has also been busy — shaking up the league tables and yielding a surprise windfall for the very largest investment banks.

The euro market for SSAs has returned to life in impressive style, but borrowers outside the ECB’s asset purchase programme are meeting with a chillier reception than their European counterparts.

A leading covered bond investor has reacted positively to a series of measures announced by Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ (OSFI) which have effectively provided stable access to emergency funding, including a temporary increase in the amount of covered bonds the country's banks can issue. The move comes after a heavy spell of supply that had sparked concerns that Canadian banks were struggling for cash.

Mexico petrochemicals company Grupo Idesa on Monday issued a supplement to the offering memorandum on a distressed bond swap as it attempts to avoid default by persuading bondholders to push out the maturity on a $300m bond due in December.

CPPIB Capital hit the euro market on Monday, becoming the first SSA borrower not eligible for QE to access the market since the coronavirus outbreak shuttered the market. A fellow Canadian is set to follow suit.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have received the green lights from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to increase ownership in their Mainland joint ventures to 51%.

Toronto Dominion Bank attracted a slightly larger order book for its three year dollar covered bond on Friday than Bank of Nova Scotia did for a similar deal issued on Wednesday. Both deals offered a considerable pick-up to where they would have been expected to be priced in euros, but the overall spread outlook remains a subject for hot debate. At the same time on Friday, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was set to issue a ‘blow out’ three year Swiss franc deal.

Unusual or less traditional ways of trading bonds — via electronic platforms and exchange-traded funds — look set to come out well from the recent market turmoil.

In this round-up, Chinese industrial profits recorded the steepest drop in a decade, US president Donald Trump praised China’s understanding of Covid-19 and Hong Kong bourse’s Charles Li said closing the market is not the solution to stem sell-offs.

Those working in capital markets have found aspects of working from home difficult. But many believe the new routines will not be put back in the box once offices are allowed to fill up again.

Bank of America reopened the market for financial institution bonds in euros this week and was followed by a slew of other deals as investors welcomed wider spreads and new issue concessions.

Issuers and investors in the Swiss franc market are grappling with much wider spreads on domestic and foreign issuers because of the volatility around the coronavirus pandemic.