Sweden

With the quarter’s end approaching and the G20 meeting starting on Friday, the primary market saw a busy period across all asset classes on Monday, as issuers rushed to frontload supply while Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Nykredit Realkredit and Société Générale lined up for deals in euros.

A trio of SSAs made the most of low yields in Danish kroner and Swedish kronor to print paper with coupons hovering around zero this week.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken did not have to pay a new issue premium amid favourable market conditions on Monday, after offering investors the chance to buy a new preferred senior bond.

Three Nordic banks and one British bank placed paper in Swedish krona this week. NatWest Markets made its debut in the currency, while Scandinavian-based Avida Finans printed its first AT1. Avida Finans plans to follow this debut AT1 with a future stock exchange listing.

Issuance in Swedish kronor picked up this week, with three corporate issuers placing Skr6.28bn ($667.9m) across four private placements, as issuers looked to get in ahead of the midsummer break. In euros, a Dutch and French agency both placed paper, while protests in Hong Kong caused yields to spike in offshore Chinese renminbi and Hong Kong dollars.

Volkswagen surprised the equity capital markets on Friday by setting a range on the IPO of its trucks division, Traton, a few days earlier than most in the market had expected. But the deal has already gained strong investor interest.

Chinese automobile conglomerate Geely has used an exchangeable bond to monetise the volatility of its stake in AB Volvo, the Swedish maker of heavy-duty vehicles, to secure €400m of funding at a zero coupon.

An infrequent Swedish corporate issuer, a Nordic bank, and a German car manufacturer all placed floaters larger than Skr1bn ($106m) in the last week. Swedish krona bonds have been popular with both public and private issuers in recent weeks, as both issuers and investors rush to get business done before the traditional midsummer market closure.

Oberbank sold a senior bond in euros on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of NatWest Markets, Luminor Bank and Svenska Handelsbanken, which on Tuesday also issued senior deals. NatWest attracted the largest order book for its floating rate notes.

Nordic Capital sold its last shares in Resurs Holding, the Swedish retail finance company, on Tuesday night, ending its investment in a firm it took to market in 2016.

The Swedish city of Gothenburg returned to the bond market for its second public deal of the year this week. Swedish krona bonds have proven popular in recent weeks, as both domestic and European issuers have placed deals in the currency.

Ulf Erlandsson, the well known green bond investor, and Knut Kjaer, founding CEO of the $1tr Norwegian oil fund, are exploring starting a new investment strategy called Diem Green Credit.