Turkey

Turkey shrugged of its second downgrade to junk on Friday to print a $1.5bn reopening of its 2026s. And if a sovereign bond was not proof enough that it is capital markets business as usual for the country, state-owned Turkiye Is Bankasi AS (Isbank) was out with a long five year on Monday morning.

Ojer Telekomunikasyon (Otas), the majority owner of Turk Telekom, failed to make a $290m payment on a $4.75bn loan which was signed in September 2013, according to a news report on Wednesday. But two bankers were quick to say that Otas's fate was not indicative of all Turkish borrowers.

Terrorism, a military coup attempt, and a sovereign downgrade have failed to deter dedicated EM investment in Turkey, but deteriorating growth prospects and increasing nationalism, which could further strain relations with Europe, may threaten staying power in the long run, say economists.

Turkey’s Yapi Kredi has completed its loan refinancing, bringing in $1.1bn in dollars and euros, in a deal where the margins increased just last week after the bank was downgraded.

Turkish funding officials are hopeful covered bond supply will improve in 2017 as new debut names surface and deals price tighter than the sovereign.

Turkey’s spreads have not recovered almost a week after Moody’s junked its credit rating, but bankers insist the sovereign and other Turkish borrowers will have access to the capital markets once stability has returned, even if borrowing costs rocket. Virginia Furness reports.

Moody’s move to junk Turkey's rating last Friday was met with howls of disdain from investors after they believed the agency had hinted there would be no downgrade. But no diligent fund manager should be moving positions based on a throwaway comment from a single analyst.

Turmoil in Turkish bond markets put a dampener on Monday’s open after Moody’s junked the sovereign's credit rating. But with activity in the Middle East and, after a two year absence, Nigeria, the stage is set for a busy few weeks in EM.

Vakifbank’s €500m five year covered bond has rallied after Moody’s cut its rating and those of five other Turkish covered bond issuers. The move implies that the rating downgrade has not delivered a fatal blow to prospective Turkish supply.

Some Turkish banks will have to pay an extra 25bp on loans after Moody’s downgraded 14 borrowers on Monday, triggering ratings ratchets. Vakifbank signed a loan refinancing just hours before Moody’s hit it with a downgrade.

Yapi Kredi Bank is in the market with its annual loan refinancing, as Turkey’s sovereign rating received its second downgrade of the year on Friday, putting Yapi in line to follow.

Moody’s cut Turkey’s investment grade rating to junk on Friday, as anticipated, but comments the agency made last week caught investors off guard. However, despite the initial sovereign sell-off, a rally has begun.