Société Générale

A pair of French agencies hit the market on Wednesday, pulling off impressive deals ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, where investors hope to hear promises of increased support.

Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch food retailer, has mandated banks for a debut sustainability-linked bond, as it continues to push its capital structure towards socially conscious financing.

Enel, the Italian energy company, has signed a €10bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, taking the title for the largest such deal that was held by Anheuser-Busch InBev for less than a month.

Bank of Ireland’s inaugural green bond attracted the largest financial senior book in euros this week, peaking at €2.5bn, as it offered investors a chance to pick up labelled paper at a shorter tenor and with plenty of spread.

Hamburg Commercial Bank is aiming to establish a regular market presence as part of its post-privatisation transformation plan by following a senior deal on Tuesday with a return to a non-preferred format later this year.

Commerzbank and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa shared the spoils in the senior market on Thursday, with the pair tapping opposing ends of the curve and vastly different pools of investors.

Münchener Hypothekenbank (MunHyp) and the Bank of Ireland sold their first euro green bonds on Wednesday, offering up 2bp-3bp of new issue premium to do so.

Suez, the French water and waste services group, sold €750m of zero coupon bonds on Tuesday, despite being in the midst of fighting off an €11.3bn hostile takeover bid from domestic rival Veolia.

European Investment Bank — EIB

Serbia and Croatia issued euro-denominated bonds this week. Market participants said the deals showed there was strong appetite for the right kind of sovereign credits.

BNP Paribas returned to the Swiss franc market to land a new senior non-preferred issue slightly inside its euro curve this week. In recent weeks, several foreign borrowers have tapped the market and, with tightening levels looking attractive, bankers are confident more could follow.

Croatia was set to price a bond in euros on Thursday, following two other EM sovereign issuances in the currency this week.