Spain
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Public sector issuers from the eurozone periphery this week drew big books on deals that later tightened in secondary trading, as expectations that Italy could be added to the long list of European elections this year failed to deter investors. -
Many equity market participants thought the wave of big European bank recapitalisations was beginning to wind down, until Santander surprised the market on Wednesday by announcing a €7bn rights issue to recapitalise Banco Popular, its failed domestic rival, after agreeing with European regulators to buy the bank for €1.
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European authorities applied the bank recovery and resolution directive (BRRD) for the first time on Wednesday, placing Spain’s Banco Popular into resolution and approving its sale to Santander. The regulatory process, in which additional tier one (AT1) and tier two bonds were wiped out, has far ranging implications for all market participants working on financial debt.
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With the Credit Suisse rights issue closing this week and the completion of cash calls by Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and Millennium BCP earlier in the year, the latest wave of big bank recapitalisations looked like it was drawing to a close, until dramatic news on Wednesday this week.
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Banco Popular Espanol’s covered bonds barely reacted to credit stress afflicting bonds further down its capital structure ahead of the Spanish lender’s resolution on Tuesday evening. This may have illustrated the effectiveness of the Covered Bond Purchase Programme (CBPP3) but also showed confidence in the asset class, the regulator and the Spanish banking system.
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A pair of eurozone periphery SSAs are tackling opposite ends of the euro curve this week. Italy will launch a 30 year benchmark on Wednesday, while a Spanish agency drew a doubly subscribed book for a three year.
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Banco Popular’s additional tier one (AT1) instruments took another beating on Monday, but the FIG sector has taken courage from the market’s ‘mature’ reaction to the Spanish firm’s evolving problems.
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Unicaja Banco, the eighth largest bank in Spain by assets, has announced its intention to float on the Spanish stock exchanges, joining Ireland’s Allied Irish Banks in the pre-summer IPO market.
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Spain’s CaixaBank attracted more than €3.5bn of orders on its first entry into the additional tier one (AT1) market on Thursday, despite growing caution around the precarious financial situation of its compatriot Banco Popular Español.
