RBC Capital Markets

Nestle, Électrcité de France and BP have led a stampede to the dollar market ahead of an expected rate hike by the Federal Reserve next week, as credit markets shrugged off trade wars between the US and China.

Northern Ireland Electricity, the country’s electricity grid operator, overcame any fears investors may have had about the Irish border issue in the ongoing Brexit negotiations when it upsized its deal on a rare visit to the capital markets on Thursday.

French construction and concessions group Vinci sold its first public benchmark corporate bond deal in more than five years on Tuesday and was overwhelmed by both the quantity and quality of its order books for the dual tranche deal.

Public sector borrowers rushed into what is likely to be the last window for dollar issuance for a few weeks, removing some of the price tension they had enjoyed in what had been an undersupplied currency so far this year. That meant pricing correctly involved fine margins — although most deals made it through happily.

American IT services firm DXC Technology made its second visit to the European corporate bond markets on Wednesday and found a good reception from investors for its debut euro issuance.

The World Bank cleared $4bn in the dollar market on Thursday but with spreads very tight, SSA bankers are warning that there is still little margin for error in the currency.

Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Quebec (CCDJ) was able to take €1bn of funding out of the euro market on Thursday. Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada is expected to bring the first senior bond under Canada’s next bail-in regime next week.

Dollar investors gave public sector issuers something to think about on Wednesday, as a pair of SRI bonds had very different receptions. One aggressively priced deal struggled to reach full subscription while another offering some concession grew by a half. World Bank is up next in the currency, though in conventional format, and bankers believe the trade will indicate the market’s direction.

The European Investment Bank’s latest dollar benchmark chalked up one of the highest BondMarker scores of the year so far in the currency.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AA+

The African Development Bank and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten kept the positive momentum going in the dollar SSA market this week with blowout five year benchmark trades on Thursday.

French electrical utility Engie found success with a benchmark dual tranche issue of corporate bonds on its third visit to the euro bond market in 2018. The company opted for no-grows with both tranches, which served to increase demand markedly compared with its previous deal.