Pre-migration untagged articles

Société Générale placed a flurry of puttable FRNs this week, taking advantage of increased investor and issuer interest in the product this year.

The Kingdom of Sweden extended its curve by 20 years this week when it sold its first 30 year benchmark, a Skr38bn ($4.7bn) March 2039 syndicated deal via Barclays Capital, Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Royal Bank of Scotland, SEB and Swedbank

Deutsche Telekom this week issued the first triple-B deal in the Swiss franc foreign market since last summer, selling Sfr400m of April 2014 bonds at 195bp over mid-swaps via ABN Amro and BNP Paribas.

Economic debate is more and more couched in terms of damnation and salvation. EuroWeek investigates.

The expected flurry of deals from Middle Eastern sovereigns materialised this week. Abu Dhabi is roadshowing a dollar Reg S/144A benchmark this week through Citi, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan while Aa2/AA- rated Qatar will begin roadshows for its benchmark dollar Eurobond in London on Friday through bookrunners Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs. The roadshow will continue in the United States, finishing next Wednesday.

After last week’s supply of jumbo sovereigns, euro issuance so far is confined to a Eu1bn five year for the Republic of Slovenia to be priced at mid-swaps plus 160bp, led by Abanka Vipa, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort, and a Eu1.5bn tap of the European Investment Bank April 2014 bond, priced at mid-swaps plus 50bp. Nordic Investment Bank is also expected with a five year euro at plus 50bp.

Spanish banks are ignoring dwindling investor appetite for guaranteed issuance and piling deals into the market. Cajamar just got its Eu1bn three year trade across the line but that didn’t stop Banco Cooperativo Espanol from mandating its deal. Meanwhile, Dexia, under the guise of Dexia Belgium, raised Eu2bn in the FRN format which attracted strong demand. To read about the winners and losers of the GG market, pick up EuroWeek on Friday.

The £750m rights issue for property business Land Securities has reached a take-up of 95% in a week when £1.5bn worth of deals are pricing in UK markets. The £580m capital increase by Hammerson was taken up by 99% of shareholders, and strong support is expected for the £200m rights issue of insurance business Catlin, given that the shares are trading comfortably above the rights price. Will the strong shareholder support trigger more issues into UK markets? Read EuroWeek on Friday.

The World Bank is issuing a three year dollar global at mid-swaps plus 30bp-35bp via Citi, HSBC, JPMorgan and Royal Bank of Scotland, giving investors the rare opportunity to buy a fixed rate World Bank bond in Libor plus territory. The European Investment Bank had been expected with either a three or five year transaction but is now thought to be eyeing the two year sector.

Deutsche Telekom is in the market today with the first foreign triple-B issue since July last year. Though bankers say that it looks ambitious at plus 195bp for five years, the Swiss market has proved receptive to corporate names in recent weeks. Read EuroWeek on Friday for full reaction. Among other deals this week, the Inter-American Development Bank is issuing a 10 year at plus 20bp as investors rush to take advantage of a sudden steepening of the curve. Other highlights include the first senior unsecured bank issue of the year, a Credit Suisse tap.

Porsche has come under heavy criticism from loans bankers for its eleventh-hour handling of its Eu10bn refinancing, which it finally secured last night just as its previous loan fell due. Now it is going back out to lenders to raise an additional Eu2.5bn of new money, and it is also seeking a rating. Read EuroWeek on Friday for the market’s reaction to Porsche’s handling of the deal, and its chances of getting the loan to Eu12.5bn.

A trio of CIS bank borrowers are in the process of buying back outstanding bonds. Ursa Bank has repurchased Eu101.199m of its Eu400m 7% May 2010 bonds and its Eu300m 8.3% November 2011s through a modified Dutch auction. Citi and ING were joint dealer managers. Russia’s VTB has announced a fixed price of 64 cents for its $750m 6.315% 2015 Eurobond. The tender offer expires on 30 March. And Kazkommertsbank yesterday (Tuesday) announced plans to buy back up to $175m of asset-backed bonds at between 82% and 92% of principal amount. Will more borrowers follow these three? Read EuroWeek on Friday to find out.