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Bankers in Paris are adjusting to a new life of lockdown following president Emmanuel Macron’s declaration of war against Covid-19 on Monday, which has led to the toughest restrictions being imposed on daily life in France since the Second World War.

European government bond spreads have tightened in response to the European Central Bank's decision on Wednesday to beef up its bond buying. Italy’s spread to Germany contracted by more than 120bp since Wednesday morning's wide but SSA borrowers are not ready to return to the market yet.

Prominent short sellers have criticised European financial regulators’ clampdown on short selling as being counterproductive. Meanwhile, US hedge fund Bridgewater Associates has been unwinding its multibillion short positions in European stocks, after price falls across indices on the continent in recent days.

European banking supervisors are looking into ways to help banks offset the impact that rising credit risks will have on their capital levels, with the industry heaping criticism on the IFRS 9 accounting standard for making the coronavirus crisis even worse than it should be.

The promises of economic support for economies battered by coronavirus from the UK and US governments have caused their curves to cheapen sharply, driving up borrowing costs.

Eurozone government bond yields jumped higher early on Wednesday morning, unmoved by reports of a potential breakthrough for the issuance of common EU debt instruments. The European Central Bank is suspected to have stepped in to try and control the situation, with spreads to Bunds having moved to their widest points for a year or more.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave market participants adapting to working from home some relief late on Tuesday, with sweeping no-action relief on voice recording requirements. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority hasn’t gone so far, but has offered firms some flexibility.

HSBC’s hunt for a group chief executive has ended where it began, with the bank appointing interim boss Noel Quinn on a permanent basis.

Executing bond syndications from home has proved to be feasible, bankers said in the wake of Royal Bank of Canada’s five year covered bond issued on Tuesday. Even so, the lack of physical back-up from nearby colleagues and the seamless access to certain key functions such as trading means that working from home is very much second best in practice compared with normality.

The coronavirus crisis is shaking up companies' financing arrangements in the most drastic way since the 2008-9 financial crisis, as firms strive to secure liquidity for what are likely to be many tough months. So far there have been only a few high profile cases of companies drawing down revolving credit facilities, but this is expected to grow, as long-established norms crumble and new patterns emerge.

Central banks are dusting off the 2008 playbook, thrusting liquidity at the banking system and hoping some of it gets through to banks' end clients. It’s better than nothing, but the coronavirus crisis one primarily of corporates — and the rescue toolkit needs updating.

The commercial paper market is emerging as a source of stress as financial markets creak under the pressure of the coronavirus crisis. This happened in the 2007-9 financial crisis too, but this time the strains are different. Market participants want central banks to act.