RBC Capital Markets

A trio of agencies hit screens with dollar deals on Tuesday. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and CDP Financial tapped the three year part of the curve, while the Ontario Teachers’ Finance Trust reopened a five year market that had been shuttered by coronavirus-related volatility.

Investment banking revenue in March was lower than normal as the coronavirus pandemic sapped risk appetite — but it was far from a total wipeout.

L-Bank mandated banks on Wednesday for a second attempt at a two year dollar benchmark after it had to pull a deal in the same currency and maturity two weeks ago following a lack of demand. This time, it has opted for a more conventional approach of a traditional syndication and will follow a string of well received trades in the short end of the dollar curve.

The dollar market had looked sluggish, particularly in comparison to the volumes churned out in euros, but Tuesday's $4.5bn two year from Asian Development Bank indicates the market is back in working order.

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.

The dollar bond market is gradually opening up, with two high quality public sector borrowers hitting screens on Monday for short dated deals. But with volatility still gripping the cross-currency basis swap market, European borrowers are still sticking to their home currency.

Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce all attempted to access the covered bond market on Tuesday with euros clearly showing more depth than sterling. The fact the three issuers were in the market simultaneously, whilst a fourth was monitoring the market, is not coincidental and contrasts with European and UK issuers that already have a central bank liquidity life line.

This week, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times – and despite volatility caused by the spread of the Covid-19, a trickle of MTN issuance has managed to slip through into the market.

Premier Oil’s stock surged by more than 65% on Friday after the company gave an update on its cash position following this week’s equity market slump, a positive for the banks working on its rights issue. However, the deal also hinges on a court case in Scotland.

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It was a mixed picture in the dollar public sector bond market on Thursday. A Norwegian agency was able to tighten the spread of its five year fixed rate trade on the back of a well subscribed order book. But a supranational was not able to achieve the same momentum for an intraday three year Sofr-linked floating rate note.