RBC Capital Markets

Metro Bank came back to the sterling market on Wednesday to make a second effort at selling non-preferred senior debt, raising the pricing on its offer by 200bp to 9.5%. Market participants suggested the transaction was already a ‘done deal’, but warned that the interest costs would weigh very heavily on the bank’s profit and loss statement.

NRW.Bank was well subscribed for its inaugural Sonia-linked floating rate note on Tuesday, with the books closing just one hour after opening.

After mandating banks last week to explore a three year benchmark €STR-linked floating rate note, the European Investment Bank is moving forward with the deal, with initial price thoughts released ahead of an expected launch on Wednesday — the day the rate starts being published by the European Central Bank. However, some market participants have questioned the extent of investor demand for euro FRNs with negative rates commonplace in the currency.

Suez Water Resources, the US subsidiary of Suez, the French water and waste management company, has issued $375m of US private placements, with the longest note expiring in 40 years — a rarity for dollar PPs.

NRW.Bank has picked a syndicate of three banks to lead its inaugural Sonia-linked floating rate note, as it looks to become the second German agency to issue a public trade in the format.

The risks associated with issuing at negative yields will drive non-European issuers away from the euro covered bond market, according to a report from NordLB.

Royal Bank of Canada on Thursday became the first international bank to issue a five year Sonia linked covered bond, a trade that delivered competitive pricing and sizeable funding.

The Province of British Columbia has weathered volatility from the fallout of last week's meeting of the US Federal Reserve to return to the dollar market for the first time in four years. Another rare SSA issuer, IDB Invest, also plans a return to the dollar market, with investor calls set up for this week ahead of its five year debut.

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Small cracks started to appear in the euro corporate bond market on Thursday, after a busy month, as companies launched a spate of deals. An already bulging pipeline means there will be little time for the market to catch its breath.

L-Bank issued the first ever floating rate note linked to €STR on Thursday, ahead of the European Central Bank’s publication of the recommended new euro risk-free rate on October 2. While it has been beaten in the race to do the first deal, the European Investment Bank has announced plans for what could be the first benchmark sized transaction in the format.

Two Canadian issuers revitalised the dollar covered bond market this week as Royal Bank of Canada raised €1.5bn of three year funding on Tuesday at half the cost of its senior funding and at a substantially lower cost than a year ago. The transaction was followed by Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec (FCDQ) which opened order books for another three year on Thursday.