Rabobank

Berlin Hyp has this week become the first financial institution to issue a sustainability-linked bond. Market participants were divided over whether the structure helped the issuer to achieve better deal terms, but the innovative trade will give other banks an important example to follow.

Rabobank sold the first euro additional tier one (AT1) bond in almost six weeks on Tuesday, landing the deal at a record low coupon in euros for the format.

Four public sector borrowers sold intraday trades in the euro market on Monday with the European Financial Stability Facility making a dent in its second quarter funding and three other issuers receiving impressive demand for socially responsible deals under their updated frameworks.

BPCE and Rabobank are in the market for Aussie dollar senior paper, with bankers expecting a busy April as a slew of financial issuers refinance maturing bonds.

The short Easter week saw a timid showing of new high grade corporate issuance in the European market but investors snapped up the trades that were on screens.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market was populated with well rated issuers on Wednesday, as triple-B borrowers took a cautious approach and stayed away after the Easter weekend.

Italy and Portugal are the first two eurozone sovereigns out of the blocks for syndications following the Easter break, with the former looking to extend its curve by a further five years.

Loans still under moratoria may be at a particularly high risk of impairment, according to fresh data from the European Banking Authority this week. The figures also revealed signs of a more general deterioration in asset quality within the EU.

Athene Global Funding encountered slim demand on its return to the sterling market this week, but UBS had better luck at the short end of the maturity curve.

Trafigura, one of the world’s largest commodity traders, has completed its European bank facility refinancing to add sustainability-linked targets to its debt, a month after the company made its debut in the Schuldshein market.

India’s Adani Green Energy has raised a $1.35bn green loan to support the construction of projects under its renewable portfolio.

Rabobank has developed a bilateral loan facility with a margin linked to food waste, in an attempt to homogenise parts of the otherwise bespoke sustainability-linked loan market, but not everyone is convinced that there will be much use for a one size fits all approach to KPIs.