Spain

A flurry of Swiss franc issuance dusted the market this week, as domestic and foreign borrowers entered a more settled market.

Bank issuers are increasingly interested in the idea of selling tier two bonds in green formats. But green additional tier ones are unlikely to bloom.

CaixaBank was well supported for the sale of a new €1bn tier two this week, becoming only the fourth European bank to issue a capital transaction in green format.

Banco de Sabadell was met with good demand this week for the first euro additional tier one benchmark of 2021, as investors welcomed the rare opportunity to pick up subordinated bank debt in the primary market.

Pablo de Ramón-Laca is director general of the treasury and financial policy at Spain's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. That places him in charge of the world's ninth largest sovereign debt stock, according to S&P data, for a country pummelled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Spain has the second highest number of cases in the EU and the seventh highest in the world. But even that is not the full story of the pandemic's impact.

Banco de Sabadell was met with good demand for the first euro additional tier one benchmark of the year on Tuesday, as investors welcomed a rare opportunity to pick up subordinated bank debt in the primary market. Alpha Bank could add to the supply later this week after unveiling plans for a new tier two transaction.

The transposition of the EU's Covered Bond Directive (CBD) into Spanish law is likely to be credit positive, according to a poll of delegates who attended the Association of Financial Markets in Europe’s 12th annual Spanish Capital Markets Virtual Conference on Thursday.

This week was the busiest of the year so far for bank senior supply in euros, as issuers took advantage of strong market conditions after posting full year results.

After nearly a year without any travel, many of us have become desperate to leave the gilded cage of Hong Kong. I, for one, would give anything to be able to laze on the beaches of Thailand with a Piña Colada in my hand — if I could only avoid the three-week quarantine on my return to Hong Kong.

Spain’s new 50 year euro benchmark, which was priced last week, has performed well in the secondary market with the spread narrowing by 3bp, according to levels provided by ICE Data Services.

Rating: Baa1/A/A-

Unlike its last syndication in January, when Spain lost over €75bn of orders after an aggressive move in pricing, the sovereign took a more cautious approach on its return to the public market this week to print its biggest ever 50 year bond.