Spain

Moody’s on Tuesday cut the rating of Obrascón Huarte Lain, the Spanish construction company which last week tried to repay a €300m 2020 bond to rein in its debt.

BBVA returned to the covered bond market for its first deal since November 2015, pricing a well oversubscribed €1.25bn seven year with barely any new issue concession and a long way through the Kingdom of Spain’s spread. The transaction followed one from Toronto Dominion, which on Monday became the first Canadian bank to issue in the US dollar covered bond market this year.

Public sector borrowers from the eurozone periphery are preparing a flurry of issuance in the next few days, with one still smarting from a change to its rating outlook late last week.

Spain’s troubled renewable energy multinational Abengoa told GlobalCapital on Monday it could announce a joint plan with creditors to avoid bankruptcy as soon as this week ­— some 15 days before its March 28 deadline.

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, the Spanish construction company, said on Thursday that it had received a 99.72% take-up on its €710m rights issue, which was placed without banks. But the market will have to wait till next week to find out how large Carlos Slim’s stake in the firm is now.

Santander Consumer Finance added to a run of FIG Swiss franc issuance this week, printing just its second bond in the currency.

Telefonica’s €600m equity-neutral convertible bond, launched and priced on Wednesday, proved controversial and had to be restructured mid-sale, highlighting the discomfort many investors feel with some of the currently fashionable CB structures.

A group of four banks have launched a $300m three year bullet that marks Santander Consumer Finance’s (SCF) debut in the Asian syndicated loan market.

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, the Spanish construction company, released the take-up figures for its rights issue on Thursday.

Delve into the details of their respective economic and political prospects, and Italy’s investor credentials are seemingly more favourable than Spain’s, writes Jeremy Weltman.

Spain and Portugal continued to suffer political turmoil this week, with bankers worrying that Spain’s troubles might lead to a widening of its spread over Italian bonds.

Santander Consumer Finance opened up a new Tokyo Pro-Bond programme worth €10bn on Tuesday, following a similar move from its UK sister borrower last year.