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Following its debut £750m Sonia-linked covered bond issue in September, Lloyds has printed the first securitization linked to Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia) – Elland RMBS. The deal more than doubles the outstanding issuance in the format.

Telecoms firm Lebara is seeking further changes in its bond terms, including waivers on leverage covenants and a shorter maturity date, after it finally released group financial results which have been delayed since February.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is planning to wait until next year to meet a European Commission requirement to issue a tier two bond, beyond the original deadline.

Ireland and Denmark have outlined their funding needs for next year, with both sovereigns looking to raise similar amounts to 2018.

Chemical and consumer goods firm Henkel has signed a €1.5bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, with leads claiming the deal is the first of its kind in Germany.

Experian, the Irish-incorporated, FTSE 100-listed credit checking agency, has signed a $1.95bn revolving credit facility, which it self-arranged.

The dollar SSA market at the end of 2018 was in stark contrast to euros, despite the latter outstripping it in volume over the year. Even uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s rate path in 2019 seems unlikely to shake the fortitude of the currency as a funding source for SSAs. But finding windows could become trickier as the Fed pulls liquidity amid global trade wars and rising populism.

In the last year that sovereigns, supranationals and agencies could enjoy the effects of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme — but still had to cope with the Fed pushing up rates — GlobalCapital’s SSA team used its editorial judgement, with inspiration from GC’s world-famous bond comments and patented BondMarker app, to pick what it felt were the top trades of the year. The team strove to find deals that were not just the biggest — it looked for trades that set pricing markers, were innovative and brave or that made an impression in other ways. GC presents the winners here. Congratulations to the issuers and banks involved.

Financial institutions have sold more secured bonds in place of unsecured debt in 2018, according to the European Banking Authority. But the watchdog expects that the sector will confront an 'important challenge' next year, when some banks will face pressure to sell riskier securities to meet new loss-absorbing debt requirements.

Work to bring the new risk-free rates to the dollar and sterling bond markets began in earnest this year as several issuers brought notes linked to them. But 2019 could be where clarity emerges on which of the different structures will win out.

The bond market is well ahead of schedule in its adoption of potential Libor replacements, with several issuers having printed notes linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Sofr) in the dollar market, and to the Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia) in sterling. Borrowers are setting strong standards for other participants to take up, as well as adjusting structures to ensure the eventual market is optimal. That does not mean the job is finished, of course. GlobalCapital spoke to some of the pioneers in the Sonia and Sofr markets about their work so far — and the challenges ahead.

A revolution is occurring in the Schuldschein market. This sedate and sober instrument has shaken its fusty reputation and transformed into a bustling hotbed of technological progress. Seven digital platforms sprang up in 2018, each declaring a grand ambition to drive efficiency. But with platforms jockeying for position, under the eye of the German regulator, some question the rate of change and the authenticity of some agents of it.