Société Générale

Investors snapped up a pair of tightly priced benchmarks from public sector issuers this week — setting up for promising issuance conditions when their funding officials return to the office after the Easter break.

Snam, the Italian gas transport network, found very strong demand on Wednesday for a €500m bond issue, as investors ignored the threat of war between Russia and Ukraine and piled into West European corporate credit.

Industrial coatings firms Ring International Holding and Helios Domzale have refinanced €150m of senior loans after completing their merger earlier this month.

Strong demand for a pair of benchmarks, plus Italy’s latest BTP Italia, in what is typically a quiet week in the lead up to Easter holidays, has issuance conditions looking promising for sovereign, supranational and agency borrowers when the market re-opens next week.

Investors should sell one-month US dollar, Malaysian ringgit non deliverable forwards at 3.253 and buy USD, Korean won one-month NDFs at 1043.5 in a bid to play MYR’s recovery against KRW.

MTN desks are taking part in a fierce battle of east versus west. They aren’t talking about schools of philosophy, but something more important— where in London to live and more importantly what that says about their age.

Wells Fargo and Macquarie Bank highlighted the demand for floating rate paper on Tuesday, with both banks selling euro denominated FRNs. Syndicate officials away from the deal said that the deals are likely to be the last senior trades from banks ahead of the Easter break.

The late week recovery in the FIG market continued on Friday, with La Banque Postale drawing strong interest for its tier two capital bond.

Suhyup Bank priced a new five year bond on Wednesday, with investors taking advantage of the rare Korean paper which received an orderbook that was eight times oversubscribed.

Icade, the French listed property company partly owned by Caisse des Depots et Consignations, returned to the bond market on Wednesday with a €500m no-grow seven year bond that was five times oversubscribed.

Guarantor: French Republic

While the focus in euros this week may have been on Greece’s blowout return to the capital markets, two other issuers were able to sell successful trades of their own. The European Financial Stability Facility and Unédic breezed through seven year trades, though syndicate bankers worry that a quiet patch lies ahead with few agencies keen to issue.