RBC Capital Markets

The sterling market was red hot this week with public sector issuers hitting screens in force, despite a headline heavy calendar.

KfW launched a £300m tap of a December 2019 line on Wednesday, pulling in over £350m of orders in spite of sharp swings in the strength of the currency.

Public sector borrowers will take a pause from primary this week as they dodge possible volatility during a week riddled with political and economic risk events in three major currencies.

World Bank proved its popularity in the Australian dollar bond market on Tuesday, selling a combination of medium and long dated debt for A$800m ($605.4m) to a wide variety of investors.

A pair of supranational issuers nipped in on Tuesday with what are likely to be the final dollar deals of the week before a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday — where futures prices suggest an overwhelming likelihood that the Federal Reserve’s target rate will rise.

Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) hit screens for a sterling deal on Monday, raising £250m with a one day execution despite the announcement that the Scottish government will seek a second independence referendum.

The Province of Ontario and Rentenbank tapped bonds at the long end of the Kangaroo curve this week, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) mandated banks for a new Australian dollar bond.

US President Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress, a remarkable switch in Federal Reserve rate expectations and swap spreads falling from their early week highs all failed to derail a stellar week for public sector dollar issuance. More trades are expected to come next week, before the market quiets ahead of the Fed’s next rate decision and a Dutch general election where the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) is expected to perform well.

The market for socially responsible investment (SRI) bonds is enjoying a burst of activity, as sub-sovereign borrowers from both sides of the Atlantic hit screens in green.

Swedish Export Credit Corporation on Thursday added another cracking deal to a super strong week for dollar issuance, as FMS Wertmanagement lined up to take benchmark supply in the currency into Friday.

Sustainability bonds are the flavour of the week for regional issuers, as the State of North Rhine-Westphalia smashed the size record for sub-sovereign SRI bonds on Tuesday and Île-de-France hit screens to announce its own socially responsible investment bond.

The Province of Quebec is set to follow its neighbour Ontario into green bond issuance, opening books for the inaugural bond on Thursday.