Health and Biotech

  • The coronavirus graphic to watch: UK deaths exceed China's

    The coronavirus graphic to watch: UK deaths exceed China's

    UPDATED 5 April 2am GMT The spread of the coronavirus continues to accelerate in the US, UK and Turkey, which we have added to our graphics. Turkey had 2,786 new cases on Friday, bringing its total to over 20,000, the sixth highest in Europe.

    05 Apr 2020
  • Land NRW’s funding needs to reach up to €40bn for 2020

    Land NRW’s funding needs to reach up to €40bn for 2020

    The State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Land NRW)’s borrowing programme for the year is on the up and could reach an all-time high in response to the region’s fiscal package to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

    03 Apr 2020
  • Israel taps MTNs to combat Covid-19

    Israel taps MTNs to combat Covid-19

    A pair of sovereigns hit the MTN market to raise debt this week, looking for cash to meet increased borrowing requirements as they grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Israel came to the MTN market this week printing paper to helpfund its Covid-19 response, while Ireland ventured out to the ultra-long end of the curve to print its fourth century bond.

    03 Apr 2020
  • Covered bond market establishes Covid-19 task force

    Covered bond market establishes Covid-19 task force

    The European Mortgage Federation and European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC) has established a task force to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative emerges at the same time as the European Banking Authority’s publication of guidelines on the treatment of debt moratoria.

    03 Apr 2020
  • Covid-19: SSA response bonds

    Covid-19: SSA response bonds

    SSAs are mobilising their resources to support the fight against Covid-19. The below table details the bonds issued by them in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

    03 Apr 2020
  • EBA clarifies guidance on loans under moratoria

    EBA clarifies guidance on loans under moratoria

    The European Banking Authority has made it clear when loans subject to Covid-19 moratoria should be classified as forborne exposures or distressed restructurings, following calls from the industry for further guidance in this area.

    03 Apr 2020
  • UK equities grapple with Covid-19 dividend cancellations

    UK equities grapple with Covid-19 dividend cancellations

    UK equity market participants are assessing the impact of a huge number of dividend cancellations or postponements. It is another layer of fundamental disruption to business as usual, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, and one which could have wider repercussions.

    03 Apr 2020
  • SRB plans to be ‘flexible’ over MREL, reporting deadlines

    SRB plans to be ‘flexible’ over MREL, reporting deadlines

    The Single Resolution Board has said it will offer banks some flexibility around their regulatory reporting deadlines, easing the operational strain on the sector during the coronavirus pandemic. But European banks are looking more clarity on certain elements related to the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities.

    03 Apr 2020
  • PLN braves tough market for $1bn loan

    PLN braves tough market for $1bn loan

    Indonesian power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara has sent out a request for proposals (RFP) to a large group of banks, aiming to raise a new offshore loan despite the impact of the coronavirus on bank demand.

    03 Apr 2020
  • Arg gives debt guidance but default worries rise

    Arg gives debt guidance but default worries rise

    As the initial government-imposed deadline for Argentina’s mammoth debt restructuring sailed by without a concrete offer to creditors having been put on the table, some analysts are worried that a hard default may be inevitable.

    02 Apr 2020
  • MDBs man the decks as EM’s perfect storm breaks

    MDBs man the decks as EM’s perfect storm breaks

    Debt relief, restructuring and trillions of dollars of official institution funding are all speeding down the tracks towards emerging markets, as the number of countries with desperate financing needs across the world rapidly stacks up. Ross Lancaster, Burhan Khadbai, Mariam Meskin, Phil Thornton and Oliver West report.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Bank capital: pretence is better than nothing

    Bank capital: pretence is better than nothing

    Armies of wonks have spent the last 10 years dreaming up a panoply of bank capital tools, from additional tier one capital to MREL, to make sure “too big to fail” can never happen again. Next time, they claimed, private investors’ capital would be burnt in an orderly process, saving taxpayers from bailing out banks.

    02 Apr 2020
  • EC vows €100bn for jobless, but still no coronabonds

    EC vows €100bn for jobless, but still no coronabonds

    Those pleading for a shared EU-level fiscal response to the economic damage of the coronavirus outbreak were thrown a bone on Thursday when Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, promised a €100bn unemployment fund backed by €25bn from EU member states. But her silence on the prospect of further debt mutualisation spoke volumes to market participants.

    02 Apr 2020

  • Dollar bond frenzy: everything is supersized

    T-Mobile became the latest US company to cash in on the extraordinary boom in dollar bond issuance as it priced an increased $19bn deal on Thursday that attracted $72bn of demand.

    02 Apr 2020
  • UK firms wrestle with equity raising knots in their darkest hour

    UK firms wrestle with equity raising knots in their darkest hour

    UK companies damaged by the coronavirus lockdown are rushing to the equity market to raise capital, hoping to survive the worst economic disruption most of them have ever faced. Banks are having to stretch deal structures to get the crucial financings done, but this will not work in all cases.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Daimler gears up on cash as companies hurry new lines of credit

    Daimler gears up on cash as companies hurry new lines of credit

    Daimler has signed a €12bn one year loan with four banks, to strengthen its cash position for the pandemic’s stormier days. It joins a host of borrowers agreeing new credit lines with relationship banks, rather than drawing down existing facilities. Bankers say the borrowers hope to enter the bond markets down the line.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Lloyds re-opens Yankee bank market

    Lloyds re-opens Yankee bank market

    Lloyds Banking Group became the first Yankee bank to access dollar funding for almost a month when it came to the market with a new senior deal on Thursday.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Corporates leap into turbocharged 2009-style IG market

    Corporates leap into turbocharged 2009-style IG market

    High grade companies poured into the bond market this week as participants weigh up whether this is a redux of 2009’s record year or if the unprecedented central bank spending and high bank liquidity mean that this is a unique market where borrowers raise cash even if they do not really need it.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Mission impossible? Cruise co Carnival storms into capital markets with high stakes rescue

    Mission impossible? Cruise co Carnival storms into capital markets with high stakes rescue

    Dollar high yield and convertible bond buyers dived straight into the riskiest possible end of the market on Wednesday, snapping up rescue issues for cruise operator Carnival Corporation, a firm at the centre of the coronavirus storm. Carnival pledged nearly all its ships to back bondholders’ investments, while convert investors spied a chance to double their money — if the cruise industry can bounce back. Aidan Gregory, Jon Hay, Sam Kerr and Owen Sanderson report.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Swissies pick up as investors return to market

    Swissies pick up as investors return to market

    Having dropped off in early March, Swiss franc issuance has bounced back in the last fortnight, buoyed by returning investors flocking to low investment-grade rated borrowers, like triple-B rated cement manufacturer LafargeHolcim, and piling into a record-breaking foreign covered bond.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Esoteric investors fear new era of risk beyond pandemic

    Esoteric investors fear new era of risk beyond pandemic

    Esoteric ABS has come to a standstill, but many market participants are confident that the damage will be manageable in the short term. Investors are more concerned about what will happen after the coronavirus pandemic, which is changing consumer behaviour and reshaping fundamental credit risks in all asset classes.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Calm in cross-currency after Fed soothes dollar trauma

    Calm in cross-currency after Fed soothes dollar trauma

    The US Federal Reserve’s unprecedented injections of dollar liquidity calmed conditions after a chaotic month in the cross-currency swap market’s short-end, but traders are looking at its effects on the primary bond markets as the next test.

    02 Apr 2020
  • CLO market to survive crisis credit wringer but will change

    CLO market to survive crisis credit wringer but will change

    CLO players have been resolute that deal structures will withstand the pressure on corporate credit, and that the product has been tested by worse. But even though the market expects to weather the coming storm, industry veterans are predicting a new landscape after the virus crisis subsides, writes Paola Aurisicchio.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Insurers bulked up on airline risk as export credit agencies pulled out

    Insurers bulked up on airline risk as export credit agencies pulled out

    Private sector insurance companies have written extensive guarantees for the purchase of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in the past two years, filling a gap in the market left by the retreat of US Eximbank and European export credit agencies. But with aircraft around the world grounded and airlines slashing capital expenditure, these insurance firms could be stuck with the risk.

    02 Apr 2020
  • The virus crisis is a proving ground for CLOs

    The virus crisis is a proving ground for CLOs

    CLOs are under acute stress as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on corporate credit, but the situation presents an opportunity for the market to prove itself to sceptics.

    02 Apr 2020
  • EC proposes state-backed €100bn unemployment fund

    EC proposes state-backed €100bn unemployment fund

    The calls for a joint European fiscal response to coronavirus may, at least in part, have been answered. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a €100bn fund intended to protect employment and mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak. The fund will be backed by €25bn from member states.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Dividend ban leaves AT1 holders feeling safer

    Dividend ban leaves AT1 holders feeling safer

    Additional tier one investors breathed a sigh of relief after regulators outlawed dividend payments this week. They argued the move made it more likely they would carry on getting the coupons on their instruments.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Credit ratings take second place for corporate bond investors

    Credit ratings take second place for corporate bond investors

    There was little let up in the high grade corporate bond market on Thursday, but the growing importance that investors are putting on individual borrowers' perceived exposure to corona risk over more traditional measures of creditworthiness like credit ratings was on full display.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Covid-19 sends IG loan volumes tumbling

    Covid-19 sends IG loan volumes tumbling

    Investment grade syndicated loan volumes in Europe have plunged almost 45% year-on-year, as the Covid-19 coronavirus tears into demand for bank credit.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Rare bullish companies still buying own stock

    Rare bullish companies still buying own stock

    As the coronavirus eats into the global economy, most companies are putting their share buy-back programmes on hold — but there are exceptions. ContourGlobal, which generates power in emerging markets, has launched a new buy-back programme, while Philips is using an unusual derivative technique to adapt its plan to crisis conditions.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Axa cites strong capital ratio after redeeming sub debt

    Axa cites strong capital ratio after redeeming sub debt

    Axa said this week that it would call one of its legacy tier two bonds as it reassured the market on the strength of its balance sheet during the coronavirus crisis. Most other insurance companies are not expected to face similar decisions until much later this year.

    02 Apr 2020
  • NDB finances emergency loan to China with Panda bond

    NDB finances emergency loan to China with Panda bond

    New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the five BRICS countries, sold a Rmb5bn ($704m) three year Panda bond on Thursday. All proceeds will be used to fund an emergency loan NDB recently promised to three Chinese provincial governments to help them combat the Covid-19 outbreak. Rebecca Feng reports.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Indian lockdown buckles ECM pipeline

    Indian lockdown buckles ECM pipeline

    India’s equity capital markets were silenced this week as a nationwide lockdown and tumbling share prices kept bankers at home and issuers at bay.

    02 Apr 2020
  • New Zealand bans dividends and T1 redemptions

    New Zealand bans dividends and T1 redemptions

    The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will prevent its financial institutions from redeeming subordinated bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, putting itself in contrast with other parts of the world, where banks remain free to manage their debt capital as they see fit.

    02 Apr 2020
  • AIA and Baidu reopen Asian dollar bonds

    AIA and Baidu reopen Asian dollar bonds

    Hong Kong's AIA Group and China's Baidu reopened the Asian bond market this week, proving that investors are still willing to commit to the right credits ─ as long as they come at the right price. Morgan Davis reports.

    02 Apr 2020
  • Equity-linked to flourish as corporates recapitalise

    Equity-linked to flourish as corporates recapitalise

    Convertible bonds are emerging as an important tool that companies will use to recapitalise themselves during the Covid-19 crisis alongside selling new shares, particularly for those with weak credit ratings.

    02 Apr 2020