Société Générale

Société Générale is merging its high yield and hedge fund sales businesses, with the two team heads likely to leave their posts.

Rating: Baa3/-/BBB-

The long end of the French, Belgian and Dutch covered bond market is in effect closed for primary issuance because it is too expensive compared with government bonds.

French media group Lagardère has refinanced a €1.25bn credit facility and replaced one of its relationship banks.

DP World shook off turbulent markets on Tuesday to take a $3bn book for its $500m trade. While the borrower may have been pushed to issue to avoid blackout, pricing still came inside the borrower’s existing curve.

Belfius Bank is now the sixth bank in the capital deal pipeline, and there is growing concern that persistent rates volatility will make it hard for them to avoid running into each other in the primary market.

DP World’s $500m no-grow five year bond is already seven times subscribed. Price guidance has been tightened to 160bp over mid-swaps, plus or minus 5bp.

Korea Development Bank has made a bold return to dollar bonds in a deal that bankers claim scored one of the tightest ever spreads for a Korean name. The pricing drew plenty of criticism, but the deal’s defenders are hailing the trade as a success, preferring to focus on the quality of the order book.

DP World, the Dubai-based global container ports operator, has released price guidance for a dollar benchmark five year bond at 180bp over mid-swaps.

Korea Development Bank (KDB) is out in the international debt market this week, hoping to receive better reception than its last dollar bond in September 2014.

Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking has unveiled new senior appointments in Asia. The internal moves come after the announcement of a new structure for its global markets businesses last week.

Swiss cement maker Holcim is in a stand-off with its relationship banks over whether it can receive negative interest payments on its Swiss franc revolving credit facility, amid deeply negative interest rates, writes Elly Whittaker.