North America

Four US global banking titans roared out of earnings blackout to raise more than $20bn of debt this week, issuing deals either side of president Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp, a so-called blank cheque company, has raised $360m from a larger-than-expected New York Stock Exchange IPO that has added further momentum to the increasingly hot asset class.

Companies in the same sector often copy each other, but this year's string of bond issues by aircraft lessors has been exceptional, and is prompted by the sector's credit rehabilitation. Air Lease Corp took the recovery past a new milestone this week.

Mexican non-bank lender Unifin Financiera is planning an eight year bond issue of up to $500m, with up to $200m set to come via an exchange offer for existing bonds. But bondholders participating in the exchange are unlikely to receive much by way of increased returns for pushing out their maturities.

Top US bankers are optimistic about their investment banking businesses for the start of 2021, after a stellar 2020 during which their clients rushed to financing markets to help them get through the Covid-19 crisis, and government and central banks provided essential support.

A new era has begun in the US, with the swearing in of Joe Biden as president. For America and the rest of the world it is a sea change in leadership style and political substance.

Chinese vape company RLX Technology raised $1.4bn from its US listing this week, pricing the deal above the marketed range after a huge turnout from investors.

Higher rates and execution certainty in the dollar bond market have given investors something to get excited about, with supply from financials in the currency outstripping that in euros so far this year.

SK Battery America, a subsidiary of South Korea's SK Innovation Co, found outstanding response for its green dollar bond on Tuesday. The firm was able to tighten pricing by 45bp, with the notes trading even tighter in the secondary market.

The relationship between the US and China, which has faced immense strain during Donald Trump’s presidency, is unlikely to get too much relief under the Biden administration. The biggest losers will be US banks and their capital markets business in Asia.

Cloopen Group Holding, a cloud-based communication provider, is planning to raise at least $100m from a US IPO of American depositary shares (ADS).

Royal Bank of Canada issued a tightly priced €1.25bn 10 year covered bond on Tuesday. While it only attracted just enough demand for it, the long tenor, investor diversification, cost of funding and deal size were positives for the borrower.