Société Générale

Telefónica, the Spanish telecoms group with €55bn of debt, came to the euro market on Tuesday to refinance two of its hybrid capital bonds. It launched a tender offer for the pair, which now total €1.3bn, and a hybrid new issue to replace them, tacking on opportunistically a 10 year senior bond issue.

Achmea, the Dutch insurance holding company, has signed a €1bn sustainability-linked refinancing loan, in what one bank said was the first deal of its kind in the country's insurance sector.

Public sector borrowers are set to enjoy yet more enviable funding conditions in euros, with central banks on an even more dovish path than before. At least one benchmark is in the pipeline for next week, while this week a core eurozone issuer sold its largest ever deal.

Dollar SSA issuance is expected to pick up next week, thanks to a change in the euro/dollar basis swap that is making issuance in the currency more attractive for euro funders. There was still a smattering of dollar trades this week, including a Sofr-linked floater that broke new ground for the format.

Rating: Aa1/AA-/AAA

The European Central Bank struck a decidedly dovish tone at its meeting on Thursday, meaning there were no nasty surprises for SSAs planning bond issues in the coming days. A French agency is on screens for a deal in dollars this Friday, while euro and dollar benchmarks are slated for next week.

Bank of China paid a visit to the euro bond market on Wednesday, raising €500m through its Paris branch. It was just the latest Chinese financial institution to fund in the currency.

The State of North Rhine Westphalia sold an unusually large amount of debt in the SSA market on Wednesday through a dual tranche offering, with one of the bonds coming with a sustainable label.

Rating: Baa1/A-

The Spanish Treasury is studying the possibility of issuing green bonds — a shift from its previous position on the format — after the country’s government last week outlined a series of measures to decarbonise the economy by 2050. Spain is also adjusting its inflation-linked bond issuance strategy this year. If the sovereign does decide to issue green bonds, it is likely to find strong demand, with one of its own debt issues as well as a returning Spanish region this week being heavily oversubscribed.

Two Turkish issuers were back on screens this week as the country continues its rehabilitation in the capital markets. QNB Finansbank printed with a 10bp new issue premium, according to one lead manager, a level which he said shows how far Turkey has come since the sovereign paid up 50bp for its post-volatility return to market trade in October.

Galicia on Thursday made a triumphant return to the bond markets on Thursday as it became the latest Spanish autonomous community to print after several years away.