The Netherlands

The remarkable conditions in Europe’s corporate bond market since the European Central Bank trained its quantitative easing firehose on the market were clear again today when Federal Express, the US deliveries group, raised €3bn to finance its purchase of Dutch peer TNT Express.

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has become the first borrower to issue an accredited green Schuldschein, leading the way for more deals to come.

Rabobank has announced the sale of a €1bn portfolio of mortgages in a move that has pre-positioned the bank for tougher Basel IV regulations. By the time the rules are in force in Europe though, they may look different, especially for countries that are heavy users of covered bonds.

Dutch lender ABN Amro returned to the Singapore dollar bond market for the first time since 2012, raising S$450m ($331m) with a tier two offering.

Two equity block trades or rapid sales were completed successfully in Europe on Monday night.

Delta Lloyd, which last week won a shareholder vote to execute a rights issue despite public criticism of the deal from some of its investors, on Wednesday released details of the trade.

Covered bond primary activity slowed this week with just two €500m seven year trades emerging from banks in the Netherlands and Italy.

Asia's debt market was crowded on Wednesday with three issuers on the hunt for their respective fundraisings ahead of the Easter holiday.

Sequa Petroleum, the unrated company listed on the Euronext Marché Libre, announced guidance for its $200m secured notes with a double digit yield, a level not seen in the high yield market for more than a year.

Van Lanschot Bankiers managed a smooth execution for its second ever covered bond deal on Tuesday, a transaction that was at risk of being postponed after attacks in Brussels.

ABN Amro is set to launch its second Basel III tier two trade in as many weeks and this time is opting for a Singapore dollar-denominated transaction.

Two block trades have been launched in Europe this evening (Monday March 21), in shares of Iren, the Italian multi-utility group, and IMCD, the Dutch speciality chemicals distribution company. While IMCD has been the subject of three previous block trades, there have been none in Iren, according to Dealogic.