UK Sovereign

A plunge in sterling’s value on Monday after the UK government picked a date for the country’s European Union membership is unlikely to stop SSAs adding to a record breaking year in the currency so far, said bankers.

Barclays has announced a swathe of debt capital markets promotions, several new desk heads, and a new structure for EMEA, following last week's changes to the DCM management team.

Emmanuel Smiecench, former managing director on the sovereign, supranational and agency syndicate desk at Société Générale, has returned to the market.

The UK Debt Management Office has mandated banks for the sale of a Gilt set for the week beginning February 22.

European credit markets, led by the banking sector, have seen risk escalate over the past several weeks with the Markit iTraxx Europe Main index seeing its spread widen to the highs of June 2013. One bright spot however, has been the region’s sovereign credit, which has largely steered clear of the contagion that developed in the corporate market.

Deutsche Bank's global head of FIG origination has left the bank to head to another firm.

Gilt investors have suggested that syndications form part of the UK Debt Management’s main issuance programme, rather than being used as a supplement — but bankers are cautious about such a move, despite the extra fees it would bring in.

Société Générale has become the latest big name bank to pull back from a government’s bond business, after it resigned as a Gilt-edged market maker for the UK Debt Management Office on Friday.

Banks have raised concerns with the UK Debt Management Office over the impact that increased regulation is having on their ability to make markets, adding to a crescendo of concern about liquidity provision in government bond markets worldwide.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) has appointed a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to carry out a review into finding a new provider for end-of-day reference prices for Gilts and bills.

Standard Chartered Bank has made two promotions — crowning a new head of capital markets for Americas and Europe and a new head of European syndicate.

As news of the UK and US investigation into SSA market trading practices broke, the SSA market split over whether the banks at the heart of the probe would lose primary business.