Santander

Santander's UK subsidiary became the latest financial institution from the country to market bonds in sterling on Thursday. The final spread was barely moved from initial thoughts.

Santander has hired a new covered bond trader who shares the same name as the trader it recently lost.

Capita, the UK outsourcing company, launched its £701m ($976.13m) rights issue before the market opened on Monday, in a bid to turn its fortunes around and de-lever its balance sheet.

German residential property company Grand City Properties brought its third corporate bond deal of 2018 to the market on Tuesday, while the return of seed company Syngenta with a jumbo multi-tranche deal neared.

Canadian banks and pension funds led a rush of Yankee issuance this week, as they jumped at the chance to tap the dollar market while US banks remained on the sidelines in the run-up to first quarter earnings season.

Investors bought a combined $4.23bn equivalent of debt from Banco Santander and CaixaBank this week after S&P raised its ratings for both banks last Friday.

European high yield bond issuers roadshowed for seven lower rated new offerings this week, leaving behind the quiet of the post-Easter recess. What followed was a vigorous tug of war over pricing and terms in which bankers and investors claimed different victories.

French aerospace and defence company Thales took a proven route to success when it sold a new dual tranche deal on Thursday, combining short dated floating rate notes with a fixed rate offering.

UBS followed Santander this week by issuing a large senior deal designed to meet loss-absorbing capacity requirements, as both banks look ahead to first quarter results.

Peking University Founder Group Co, BOC Aviation and Yuexiu Property Co are meeting investors for their upcoming bond plans, while China National Chemical Corp’s Swiss subsidiary Syngenta is also gearing up for a mega deal.

Bondholders involved in the resolution of Banco Popular have turned their attention towards US courts in an effort to extract further information from Santander, the bank’s new owner.

Commodity trader Glencore received a glorious response from the loan market to its latest refinancing, with the size of its annual revolver leaping by almost $4bn during syndication to close at $9.7bn. But senior bankers warned that this is a sign of lender desperation, not borrower strength, writes Michael Turner.