Santander

A worsening in credit conditions has squeezed some borrowers across EMEA out of syndicated loans and into the bilateral market. As syndicated loans bankers face another year of disappointing figures, market players are split over whether this trend will leave a more permanent dent in volumes. Mariam Meskin and Jon Hay report.

Agence Française de Développement printed a €1bn tap on Tuesday, while Fondo de Amortisacion del Deficit Electrico (FADE) landed €1.2bn at five years.

BBVA is the latest large European bank to have suffered a ratings downgrade during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Fitch having moved the issuer’s debt ratings down by a notch blaming a weaker operating environment in Mexico and Spain.

Five banks and insurers from across Europe issued senior debt this week, including two in green bond format, as they tried to find opportunities in a choppy market. Athene Global Funding, Banco de Sabadell, Virgin Money, Santander and Hypo Noe all priced deals.

Green bonds made up the majority of the supply in the euro bank bond market on Thursday, with Hypo Noe and Santander capitalising on strong demand for the asset class.

Virgin Money secured its first foothold in the euro market on Wednesday, selling €500m of senior debt from its holding company as part of a deal that had been initially been postponed because of Covid-19 concerns.

Rating: Aa2/AA/AA-

UniCredit jumped into the euro market to raise senior funding at a pricing level it found much more familiar than recent elevated levels this week, while BPER Banca gave investors their first chance in several months to buy a new issue from a second tier Italian bank.

Market participants expect European banks to take a large chunk of funding through the European Central Bank’s Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO III) programme, hitting covered bond supply levels. But issuance in other asset classes should remain unaffected as banks follow through with their funding plans.

BPER Banca opened books for its inaugural sale of senior debt on Wednesday, giving investors their first chance to buy into a new issue from a second tier Italian bank during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UK Debt Management Office launched a syndication on Tuesday, printing a new October 2050 line and raising £9bn.

Northern Powergrid, the UK energy distribution company, brought the longest sterling deal of the year so far with a 42 year trade on Tuesday, as syndicate bankers say that European investors are keen to see more long duration trades.