UBS

Covered bond borrowers in the UK, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands met with strong receptions for their transactions this week, which collectively raised nearly €6bn.

European and US banks have positioned themselves at the forefront of the Chinese M&A boom, but beware the ambitions of domestic players, warns David Rothnie

The phenomenal levels of demand hitting the investment grade corporate bond market were evident again on Tuesday, as German property firm Alstria Office was vindicated in delaying its €500m offering.

Swiss property investor Allreal Holding printed an eight year Swiss franc bond on Tuesday, in a transaction which bankers hope will revive corporate issuance in the currency.

Renaissance Financial Holdings is looking to extend its maturity profile with a five year non-call two note via an exchange offer.

KfW tapped a April 2020 Kangaroo bond on Friday, with demand strongly driven by the Australian investor base.

The recent turnaround in market sentiment could feed into a busy start for FIG borrowers in the second quarter, but Danske Bank was the only financial institution to take advantage in euros this week, soaking up demand for its tightly priced five year senior deal.

UBS has joined a growing list of European banks ramping up their senior holding company level issuance in 2016, printing a large three tranche deal in dollars as demand for the product surges.

Finnish property investment firm Sponda has completed its €221m rights offering, which it first announced in late February and which will be used to partially repay a bridge loan.

VAT Vakuumventile launched on Thursday morning the bookbuild for its Zurich listing. The deal, Switzerland’s first IPO of the year, could give the vacuum valve maker a valuation of up to Sfr1.38bn ($1.4bn).

Citi has lost its vice-chairman for Asean corporate and investment banking Tracey Woon, who is joining UBS in the third quarter of 2016.

Wang Xiao Zhou, who heads up loan syndication and product portfolio management at Bank of China, is leaving for a new position with Bank of China Group Investment (BoCGI).