UK

Symon Drake-Brockman, the founder and managing partner of European direct lender Pemberton Asset Management, thinks that the US direct lending market has matured to such an extent that further growth is tricky, whereas Europe still has fruitful opportunities ahead.

The Co-operative Bank is getting ready to sell its first senior bond for the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), after letting investors know that it is engaged in discussions about a possible takeover.

Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, announced on Tuesday night a 10 point plan for the environment, including phasing out petrol cars by 2030. But policy specialists are disappointed that the plan lacks financing commitments and especially that there is no announcement of a national investment bank.

Giving cheap loans with few restrictions to local authorities via the Public Works Loan Board is not a suitable replacement for central government funding. This must change, or London Borough of Croydon will only be the first council to fall into insolvency.

As the UK and the EU prevaricate over the terms of a future trading relationship, equity investors seem to be ignoring the lack of progress in negotiations and the dangerous possibility of a deal between the pair not being struck before the Brexit transition period ends in just a few weeks.

Shaftesbury, the UK landlord that owns a large number of properties in London’s West End, has concluded a £307m recapitalisation, which saw a high take-up from its shareholders.

BBVA said on Monday that it had reached an agreement to sell its US subsidiary to PNC Financial Services. The Spanish bank’s bonds rallied sharply on the news of the deal, which will increase its main capital ratios by as much as 300bp.

Conduit Holdings, a reinsurance start-up, has confirmed that it is to float in London this year. It is seeking $1.1bn equivalent of capital to take advantage of higher insurance premiums after two years of losses for the industry.

Will Sir Robert Stheeman become the Green Knight?

The UK’s announcement that it would begin issuing green Gilts next year is raising hopes that it will inspire more green bond issuance from UK borrowers. But market participants are eager to see how the UK handles setting up a green debt programme and its own green taxonomy. Lewis McLellan and Jon Hay report.

NatWest Group and Société Générale reopened the additional tier one (AT1) market to some fanfare this week, as investors showed they were hungry for yield by snapping up the deals.

Rolls-Royce, the UK aerospace company, completed its rights issue on Thursday, with the cash call proving to be a resounding success. The deal benefited from a late boost on Monday, when US drug company Pfizer said it had enjoyed successful late-stage trials for a Covid-19 vaccine, giving investors hope that Rolls-Royce engines would be powering more planes into the sky sooner than expected.