Société Générale

The Slovak Republic has mandated banks for a 12 year euro-denominated bond. With the sovereign’s curve trading tightly, bankers are suggesting that Slovakia may need to pay a decent new issue premium to tempt investors.

Emmanuel Smiecench has left Société Générale where he was head of SSA syndicate in London, covering both emerging market and investment grade deals.

Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels has wrapped up syndication of a $250m three year term loan with a group of five banks.

Port services provider Pelabuhan Indonesia II’s (Pelindo II) has asked banks lending to a $1bn loan to accept looser covenants on the borrowing. The changes come as the company is eyeing a bond issue that would increase debt on its books and make it difficult for it to meet the current loan conditions.

With regulation of the leveraged finance market in the US biting ever harder into banks' freedom of action, high yield market participants in Europe are beginning to look ahead to a future in which regulation could come to Europe, too.

Barclays Bank re-opened the primary covered bond market on Monday by issuing a £1bn ($1.51bn) three year sterling benchmark, and was followed by a pair of Canadian borrowers.

The senior FIG market’s new year surge accelerated on Thursday, with another five new issues announced in the wake of Wednesday’s successful prints. Attractive new issue premiums have kept demand high for senior unsecured prints, according to syndicate managers.

Attractive levels helped drive demand for the first wave of floating rate notes to hit the Euromarket this year on Wednesday, as Bank of Nova Scotia, Rabobank and Société Générale all issued floating rate trades.

Société Générale has hired two bankers, including a Bank of America Merrill Lynch managing director, in new roles to its equity platform in Germany and Austria, as part of a plan to strengthen corporate finance capabilities in Europe.

The Credit Guarantee Investment Facility (CGIF), added Indonesia’s Astra Sedaya Finance to its guarantee portfolio, making it the fifth transaction for the CGIF this year.

Terna — Vattenfall — Gamesa

French engineering and construction services firm Spie this week cut margins on its €625m 4.5m year bullet term loan E and let another bank onto its arranging ticket.