Swedbank

Finnair has renegotiated the covenants on its €175m revolving credit facility, as the company endured a quarter of sizeable losses and increased its annual cost savings target for the third time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

A handful of borrowers are circling the Nordic markets with an eye to printing after the end of first quarter results. But the looming blackouts have not deterred every type of credit from tapping the market as a range of corporate, covered bond and financial issuers placed paper this week.

Danish firm Nykredit Realkredit tapped the MTN market for non-preferred paper this week ahead of a deadline for regulatory debt buffers next year. Elsewhere, Alandsbanken issued its first additional tier one (AT1) note.

Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered sold their first green and sustainable bonds in dollars this week, giving US investors a chance pick up supply that would normally be expected to arrive in euros.

Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered were marketing green and sustainable bonds in dollars on Tuesday, following a tricky period for new deals in the currency.

European banks will exercise extreme caution in dollars after an ill-fated senior deal from Swedbank this week. It could signal the end of a long run of ultra-easy borrowing conditions in US credit markets, with severe volatility stemming from fears of rising interest rates. Tyler Davies reports.

Swedbank got stuck at initial price thoughts for a $750m three year preferred senior bond in the dollar market this week, having been forced to drop a longer dated leg from its offering.

The Bank of Montreal marked International Women’s Day with a Canadian dollar women in business bond this week — its first domestic issue off its sustainability framework.

Rating: Aa1/AA+

Financial institutions have ramped up their sales of green debt at the start of 2021, as they look to take advantage of a quiet funding year by building out their environment, social and governance frameworks. This week, nearly all FIG euro issuance arrived in ESG formats.

Environment, social and governance (ESG) themed debt has dominated the senior market this week, with the format helping to secure more execution certainty in a softer trading environment.

KommuneKredit mandated banks on Tuesday to follow its Nordic peer into the 10 year part of the euro curve, in what will only be the second public deal in the euro SSA primary market this week.