Société Générale

As investors sought gold and silver as a hedge against inflation and uncertainty, investment banks with the capabilities to act in these markets benefitted. Some made more than $100m in precious metals in the third quarter, according to Coalition Greenwich.

LafargeHolcim, the French-Swiss construction materials company, breezed past fair value on its debut sustainability-linked bond (SLB) on Tuesday, helping dampen concerns from some corners of the market that investors might struggle to get comfortable with the structure’s unspecified use of proceeds.

A pair of smaller names were tempted into the euro market on Tuesday, after Monday’s news that scientists have developed another successful vaccine for Covid-19 led to a further improvement of market conditions.

The People’s Republic of China is planning a comeback to the euro bond market this week, one month after selling its first dollar trade in the US.

The high grade corporate bond market burst into life on Monday, with mandates for a diverse range of trades from hybrids to sustainability-linked bonds hitting screens to take advantage of the unexpectedly positive November issuance window.

Renault, the French car maker, issued on Monday its first bond since taking a €5bn state-backed loan. Investors piled into the deal.

Gunvor, the Swiss energy trader, has signed a $1.225bn European revolving credit facility, having increased it after asset-hungry lenders oversubscribed the loan during syndication.

Klépierre, the French shopping centre operator, and UPM–Kymmene, the Finnish paper company, were two of a handful of names to receive raucous receptions from the bond market this week. Issuers benefited as a wave of market-friendly news turned the focus in Europe’s high grade bond market back to a risk on mode.

Issuers are winding down their funding programmes before the end of the year and several smaller SSAs have turned to MTNs to complete the little they have left to do. The big deals of the week, however, came from corporates, with Volkswagen and Eurogrid coming in at opposite ends of the curve.

Unédic, the French unemployment agency, will look to complete its €15bn funding programme on Thursday, coming to market in the footsteps of the EU’s second outing.

Emerging market issuers have crept back into the small issuance window in international markets after a brief pause for the US elections, with Dubai Islamic Bank and Uzbekistan’s Ipoteka Bank issuing dollar-denominated bonds this week.

Société Générale said on Monday that planned "adjustments and optimisations" should lead to a net reduction of around 640 posts in France, as it changes its structured products business and mulls altering securities services too.