Société Générale

Taqa used the strategy of a capped size and fair starting point for price talk to print its $750m 10 year bond 10bp inside its outstanding curve on Tuesday, according to a lead manager. It built a $4.55bn book in the process.

Portuguese lender Banco Espírito Santo is set to continue the success of periphery bank deals on Monday, looking to appeal to investors on the hunt for yield with a three year deal.

Commodities trader Gunvor Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gunvor Group, has opened up a $350m loan to the market, less than the anticipated $650m-$700m that it was first understood to be considering in March.

Only two weeks after successfully printing its inaugural government guaranteed senior unsecured bond, Caisse Centrale du Crédit Immobilier de France (3CIF) is looking to go another round.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as Taqa, sold its first euro note since October 2006 on Thursday.

In contrast to their evaporating taste for Russian risk, banks’ buoyant appetite for central and eastern European names was underlined this week as Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) launched its largest syndicated loan, writes Michael Turner.

Two contrasting equity-linked issuers received very different receptions as the convertible bond market re-opened this week.

Banks have been mandated to arrange a €1.7bn syndicated loan to refinance debt raised by Czech energy firm Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding to buy a stake in Slovak gas company Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel in January 2013.

CGG sold its first high yield bond in euros on Wednesday. The French geosciences business, formerly CGGVeritas, increased its deal from €360m to €400m and priced it inside guidance with a 5.875% coupon.

Financial issuers highlighted strong demand for floating rate paper this week, with syndicate bankers expecting issuance to pick up again after the Easter break. Issuers are proving keen to save on funding costs while investors are happy to pick up protection against the possibility of rising rates.

Groupe Auchan, the French supermarket chain, launched its first bond of the year on Tuesday, into an empty European corporate bond market. Despite the dark clouds massing over Ukraine, there was strong demand and the issuer hit its size and pricing targets.

Société Générale returned to the covered bond market on Tuesday after a four month absence to issue the sixth French covered bond deal of the year and the third from France with a 10 year maturity. By limiting the deal size, leads were able to price flat to its curve, and with barely any premium to the French government.