SEB

SEB is creating a new sustainable finance unit to broaden its offering across the whole bank, and is building a team including country heads — the first of which is Lars Eibeholm, who will join the bank from the Nordic Investment Bank in the summer.

The oil price slump on Monday spelt trouble for issuers in the already underperforming Norwegian krone bond market. Amid this turbulence, state-owned Norwegian airport operator Avinor flew in on Wednesday to print a Nkr2bn ($187.8m) dual floating and fixed tranche deal.

New ECM head at UniCredit — NIB treasurer heads to SEB — Mills takes up newly created position at UBS

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market faced one of its biggest tests on Wednesday, with France’s Auchan, which operates in the heavily disrupted retail sector, getting a deal away with one of the larger new issue concessions seen in recent weeks.

The treasurer of Helsinki-based Nordic Investment Bank, is leaving the supranational to join an investment bank in Copenhagen.

Sweden’s Alfa Laval has amended its revolving credit facilities, with the heavy industry products maker consolidating two old deals into one €900m revolver.

The World Bank followed up Wednesday’s record breaking dollar deal with another one for the record books on Thursday, scooping up Skr11.5bn ($1.2bn) in the Swedish krona market to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Swedish biotech company Getinge raised Skr1bn ($100m) of commercial paper off a new Covid-19 Financing Framework on Friday to it help meet increased demand for ventilators as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Danish agency KommuneKredit made one of its infrequent visits to the Swedish kronor market on Wednesday. With many issuers preferring the short end of the market due to volatility from the coronavirus pandemic, the agency instead opted to tap a pocket of demand at the long end of the curve.

Fashion retailer H&M has signed a €980m revolving credit facility to sit alongside its existing main bank line, as the Swedish company becomes the latest to turn to the bank market to bolster its finances during the coronavirus pandemic.

Svenska Handelsbanken was the only financial institution to issue senior debt in euros this week. The issuance came at a time Swedish banks have been granted an extension of two years to comply with regulatory targets for MREL debt, which might make a short-term dent in issuance.

Financial institutions bond bankers are struggling to build a new pipeline of issuance, despite a significant improvement in market conditions this week. Not only are banks entering blackout periods ahead of first quarter results, many of them are also happy to wait before seeking to raise new funding.