Santander

Brazilian cement company Votorantim Cimentos completed its second debt liability management exercise of the year last week after nearly 60% of investors holding the company’s €750m notes due 2017 agreed to sell their paper.

Liability management transactions continue to dominate Brazilian bond supply, with regulars Braskem and Votorantim raising money for buybacks on Wednesday.

Both of Thursday’s new bond issues from Latin America traded up on Friday as the rally in the region shows no signs of slowing. And bankers heard at least two new borrowers were planning deals to take advantage of strong demand for LatAm credit.

A quiet first quarter of FIG issuance from Latin America has drawn the region’s banks into a bond market that has delivered tightly priced bonds, said bankers. Santander Chile and Brazil’s BNDES benefited this week, with BNDES’s deal of particular encouragement to other Brazilian bank issuers, according to DCM bankers in the country.

The fastest book build one syndicate banker has ever seen helped Endesa Chile to a first international bond in nearly two decades on Thursday as a universal tightening in LatAm credit entices borrowers from the region into the market at a rapid rate.

Carl Bassili has joined Société Générale as a senior coverage banker in charge of global relationships and strategic advisory for a portfolio of large French corporates.

The heat in the LatAm bond market crept up a notch after Brazil’s Gerdau captured a 12 times subscribed book for its latest bond on and Abengoa’s deal shot up a remarkable five points in secondary the day after pricing.

PSA Peugeot Citroën has signed a €3bn dual tranche loan to refinance early a loan maturing in 2015.

A quiet first quarter of FIG issuance from Latin America has urged the region’s banks into a bond market that has delivered tightly priced bonds, said bankers. Santander Chile was the latest to benefit, selling a $500m three year FRN on Tuesday.

Latin American bond bankers said the blow-out 10 year issue printed by meatpacker JBS on Monday showed several Brazilian issuers were more comfortable with issuing conditions since the sovereign's downgrade by Standard & Poor's last week.

The second quarter of the year is looking set for some major landmarks in peripheral eurozone sovereigns’ journey back to market normality, after Portugal outlined details for a return to bond auctions and talk of an imminent benchmark from Greece reached fevered levels.

Banco Popular Español (BPE) issued the third Cédulas of 2014 and at €1bn, the issuer’s largest covered bond in three years. Though it was by no means the most attractive spread this year it was less than half the average of its previous three deals.