Santander

A trio of Spanish issuers launched the first covered bonds of the year from southern Europe this week but, with peripheral spreads widening sharply, conditions are not conducive to further supply.

Glencore launched its refinancing of a one year $8.45bn loan today (Thursday), which is hotly anticipated although the margin is set to widen as the company's credit spreads have surged to record levels.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has brought its jumbo acquisition financing to the US corporate bond market on Wednesday, after days of speculation over when it would arrive. But that did not deter Telecom Italia and Mondelez from issuing in the European market.

Santander UK was set to print a solid sterling senior holdco debut on Friday, but different views of the appropriate spread between opco and holdco debt meant rival bankers couldn't agree on fair value for the deal.

Borrowers who issued covered bonds this week that are eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme (CBPP3) did not receive such a strong reception as those whose bonds were not eligible.

Barclays has printed one of the largest dollar senior trades from a European bank in recent memory, as it and Santander UK took home $5bn of holding company debt between them on Tuesday.

UK banks have wasted no time in plundering a deep dollar market for holding company senior debt this week, while euro investors have been restricted to a variety show of covered bonds.

Abengoa, the Spanish construction and renewable energy group that is in pre-insolvency proceedings, signed a €106m loan on December 24 to pay employees' December wages, but will need more cash this month to avoid a full insolvency filing.

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the corporate, public sector, financial institution and emerging market bond markets. Below are the Corporate Deals of the Year 2015. We selected the trades that we think will be remembered for their success in challenging conditions, for making the best use of the demand available to them, or for having made a longer lasting impact, such as the re-opening of a market. The winners are presented here.

Spain's inability to reach a decisive result in its general election sent European credit default swap markets wider on Monday, although dealer desks said trading was very thin.

Abengoa, the engineering and renewable energy firm, woke up on Monday up to two lawsuits from share and bond holders in Spain, while lenders agreed to inject €100m so the company could meet December’s payroll.

A lack of trading activity on Monday shielded Spanish FIG spreads from the worst effects of an inconclusive general election result, but the riskiest paper took a hit.