SEB

Europe’s investment grade corporate bond market acquired a more cheerful tone on Tuesday, with new issues well oversubscribed, despite quickly shifting sentiment.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) sold its second Norwegian kroner vaccine bond on Thursday, following a donor pledge from the Norwegian government.

Daimler will issue its first green bond soon, becoming one of only a very few issuers in the automotive sector. It will hold intensive discussions with 40 or 50 investors on Monday and Tuesday and the deal may follow, sooner or later after that.

Region Stockholm brought social impact bonds into the mainstream European capital markets this week, with a transaction aimed at preventing people from developing diabetes. With healthcare financing top of the agenda in capital markets because of Covid-19, the deal raises the prospect that other issuers could turn to outcome-based financing. Frank Jackman and Jon Hay report.

The International Development Association (IDA) has tapped the Swedish krona market for the first time as it prepares to increase its funding programme for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Sovereign, supranational and agency bond issuers are mobilising their resources to support the fight against Covid-19. The below table details the bonds they have issued, specifically in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Region Stockholm printed a health impact bond on Tuesday. It is an example of a social impact bond. Unlike a vanilla social bond, the repayment and interest on the bond are directly linked to the success of the funded health project.

The New Development Bank and Kommuninvest began marketing new dollar benchmarks in the short end of the curve on Monday, with the former set to issue its long-awaited debut deal in the currency to support its member countries from the coronavirus pandemic.

Sweden’s EQT, the private equity company, has signed the largest ever ESG-linked subscription credit facility, raising hopes that the structure could become more common among PE firms.

Barry Callebaut, the Franco-Belgian chocolate maker now registered in Switzerland, launched a Schuldschein on Tuesday offering investors tenors "upon request" alongside two, five and eight year maturities. Robert Bosch did that too, when it reopened the market last month. This is a feature that arrangers say will increase in a post Covid world.

Sweden’s Volvo Car, a car maker, has become the latest company under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic to sign a state-guaranteed loan, as bankers say that state support is essential to secure commercial bank loans for the worst affected sectors.

Huhtamäki, the Finnish veteran of the Schuldschein market, is looking for a five year deal. Several bankers have said many other international issuers are coming as the market emerges from the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic, but they will find market norms have changed.