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The capital markets have not seen the same degree of automation witnessed in other market sectors. This is about to change. The onward march of technology, in a marketplace increasingly shaped by the waves of regulation since the financial crisis, means further structural change is inevitable. Data is already king — but it is the way we use it to optimise working practices that will be critical for the future shape of the industry. Martin Egan takes a look at how the primary and credit markets have evolved — and what the landscape might look like in the near future.

Garanti Bank is expected to issue the first green mortgage-backed Turkish covered bond, which will be privately placed with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and certified by a third party.

Qatar’s debt sold off sharply on Monday after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations, as well as all land and sea contacts, with the gas-rich state. Bankers recall a similar “flare up” in 2014, but are concerned about stability in the region’s financial markets.

Afreximbank has closed its largest ever syndicated loan at $1.2bn with 35 banks, its second facility of the year, after a Samurai in April.

South American sovereign Uruguay is meeting international investors ahead of a planned Uruguayan peso-denominated fixed rate bond issue.

FIG market participants expect public holidays, a European Central Bank meeting and an election in the UK to restrict supply in the market this week, with the UK vote giving some bankers a late scare.

After closing its largest ever loan African Export-Import Bank has named banks for a dollar bond of up to seven years.

Banco Popular’s additional tier one (AT1) instruments took another beating on Monday, but the FIG sector has taken courage from the market’s ‘mature’ reaction to the Spanish firm’s evolving problems.

German transformer maker SGB-SMIT launched €590m of loans at a lender meeting on Tuesday, backing One Equity Partners’ buyout of the firm from BC Partners.

China Huishan Dairy has found a discrepancy in its cash position, which as at March 31 was much higher than confirmations received from banks, according to a Monday filing.

Last week brought big talk from the European Commission, which raised its head from the technicalities of Brexit or the latest round of regulatory standards to lay out a vision for the financial future of Europe. But even with the last round of elections landing on the pro-European side, it has an uphill struggle ahead.

Banking is the business of confidence and trust. While the real work of cleaning up balance sheets is important, being seen to act swiftly, decisively and comprehensively is just as important. Impressions matter — whatever the underlying reality.