Spain

The tug of war over the Spanish renewable energy company Abengoa ended on Thursday, with the founding family caving in to at least some of its banks' demands, in return for their underwriting a €650m capital increase.

Banco Popular Español (BPE) returned to the covered bond market for the third time this year to issue a six year deal on Wednesday. After the relatively weak reception Caja Rural de Castilla-La Mancha (CRCLM) received for its similar six year on Tuesday, BPE did well to raise €750m.

Spain’s sold short term debt at the lower end of its size target on Tuesday, just a few days before a crucial regional election in the country.

Deals issued on Tuesday from Westpac New Zealand and Spain's CRCLM failed to gain much traction despite attractive pricing. Another from Bawag, its first in three years was more comfortably oversubscribed.

The second Greek general election of the year has returned a much more market friendly result than the first one, and SSA bankers are hopeful that a prevailing calm in the euro market could lead to some deals.

Grupo Villar Mir, the family holding company of Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, went head to head with Glencore’s $2.5bn capital raising on Tuesday night, but suffered nothing from the clash, as it sold a 2.36% stake in Abertis Infraestructuras, the toll roads and telecoms infrastructure group.

Greece heads to the polls over the weekend for its second parliamentary election this year, but there is little concern of the plebiscite rocking markets like the earlier vote in January.

Two state owned corporations, La Poste and Adif Alta Velocidad, this week avoided paying the wider new issue premiums that many corporate issuers have been forced to concede.

Kuxtabank this week issued the first Spanish covered bond backed by loans with an environmental, social and governance remit, and the first peripheral 10 year since March.

Spain’s borrowing costs dropped in five years but rose in threes and 10s at an auction on Thursday, as Italy shelved its BTP Italia product for the year.

Caja Rural de Castilla-La Mancha (CRCLM) completed a series of meetings last week and has mandated leads for its first deal, a six year that is to be launched on Tuesday.

Financial services boutique StormHarbour on Wednesday said it has hired for its Madrid office Yago Valderrama, Société Générale’s former head of cross-asset solutions in Spain and Portugal.