UK

The Bank of England added £150bn to its quantitative easing programme at its monetary policy meeting on Thursday. The move will go a long way to soaking up the additional supply of Gilts.

HSBC Holdings did not need to wait for a result in the US presidential election as it opened order books for a dual-tranche senior deal in euros on Friday, paving the way for further supply in the FIG market next week.

Rank Group, the UK gambling conglomerate that owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, completed a capital raise for 19.9% of its share capital, to give it enough headroom to manage through the next stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Co-operative Bank said on Friday that it was pressing ahead with plans to raise £200m of debt for the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) in the fourth quarter of this year, hoping to overcome "challenging" conditions to remain on track with its targets.

A group of the UK’s members of parliament has welcomed a model bill on responsible investing, which would encourage pension funds to accept responsibility for the impact their portfolios have on the environment and society.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the hands of many corporate treasurers to radically alter their business strategies. This will likely have an impact on companies' abilities to meet targets on their sustainability-linked facilities, some bankers believe. Silas Brown reports

Rank Group, the UK gambling conglomerate that owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, is considering a capital raise for up to 19.9% of its share capital, to see it through the closure of its venues during the second UK Covid-19 lockdown.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the US presidential election is threatening to delay deal plans in the bank bond market, with issuers having lined up new transactions in the aftermath of a successful results season.

German dairy group Müller has sold €250m of US private placements across five, seven and 10 years maturities.

Aerospace and defence supplier Meggitt has sold $300m US private placements at three and five years, according to market sources, with leverage step ups to further protect investors.

Quadgas, a gas asset and infrastructure investment consortium that sits above UK utility Cadent Gas, has sold $600m-equivalent of US private placements, in the first UK utility deal for more than six months.

UK biotech firm Synairgen has finished the second leg of an £87m capital increase to fund the next round of clinical trials of a treatment designed to alleviate the respiratory symptoms of Covid-19.