Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered moved to shore up its capital ratios on Tuesday, as it launched a long-expected rights issue, totalling £3.3bn ($5.1bn). Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan have fully underwritten the deal.

The Kenyan government has launched syndication for its second syndicated loan, a $600m two year deal. Bankers expect interest from a broader spectrum of lenders than the country's first syndicated loan in 2012.

Standard Chartered is going through its peak of disruption, according to chief executive Bill Winters, as the bank cuts senior staff. It announced a comprehensive restructuring and restoration package on Tuesday, with a third quarter loss, 15,000 job cuts, a £3.3bn rights issue, and $100bn of assets to be restructured or sold.

The head of capital solutions at Standard Chartered has left the firm as the bank’s restructuring efforts continue to take shape.

National Bank of Oman has mandated five banks for a dollar perpetual additional tier one (AT1) bond and is starting the roadshow for the deal on November 5.

Investec Bank signed its third and fourth syndicated loans of the year last Friday, and held a bank meeting this week for its fifth loan. The bank plans to stick to smaller, more regular loans in a volatile environment for emerging markets.

The Commercial Bank of Dubai has mandated six banks to arrange a Reg S dollar benchmark bond, and is starting the roadshow for the deal on Thursday.

The European arm of Tata Chemicals has launched a £140m ($216m) dual-tranche facility into limited syndication, returning to the market after a four year break.

Nigerian loans have given an underwhelming performance this year, but deals from Ecobank, FCMB, Skye Bank and Stanbic IBTC will test the mettle of the market.

Standard Chartered is to close its equity derivatives and convertible bonds businesses in yet another move to bolster its performance by withdrawing from non-core operations. But its timing has surprised some market watchers, who expect a turnaround in equity-linked activity. John Loh reports.

Sri Lanka had to pay up to get its second dollar bond of the year across the line this week, but the money left on the table was more than worth it as the sovereign ended up raising $1.5bn, a record for the country.

The syndication timeline for a $145m loan backing the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of some Indian assets has been pushed back.