UK

HSBC Holdings has launched a tender offer for nine short-dated senior securities in dollars as it looks to optimise its liability structure for the total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) requirements. The announcement followed a dual-tranche senior deal in the same currency.

Institutional investors holding Hammerson’s £689m ($900.27m) of private placements (PPs) are to be offered a pre-payment option first after the UK property company’s intended rights issue, according to a prospectus on the upcoming trade. Unlike the UK property company’s bondholders and bank lenders, during their coronavirus amendment process, PP investors negotiated an offer of pre-payment at par of 30% of any proceeds of capital raises or disposals.

Carnival Cruises has completed a partial buy-back of the $2bn three-year convertible bond it issued in April, to give it extra liquidity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Housing 21 became the latest UK housing association to receive a strong reception from investors on Friday as it priced a long-dated sterling tap with a book almost three times covered and a negligible new issue concession.

Fitch Ratings has hired Matt Palmer as a senior director in its London office to develop its ratings business in investment grade debt markets.

Aim-listed oil and gas producer i3 Energy has announced a £30m fundraising to finance its reverse takeover of Canadian firm Gain Energy’s petroleum and infrastructure assets.

Overcollateralisation (OC) levels have increased on covered bond pools since last year for European issuers, Fitch Ratings said this week. But while issuers in some countries, like the UK, showed a rise above the average, borrowers that have participated in central bank funding, like those in Germany, have managed to keep OC levels down.

Subordinated debt transactions in dollars from a trio of European banks left no doubts about the strength of the Yankee market this week. Bookrunners are encouraging issuers to execute trades in the asset class quickly, as they are unlikely to encounter better conditions before the end of this year, writes David Freitas.

Institutional investors in private placements (PPs) have signalled their appetite for borrowers beyond their typical stables throughout the coronavirus pandemic. But this week’s transaction from Vanguard Group — the largest in the market’s history — showed the size of funding available, as buyers demand bigger deals. Silas Brown reports.

Smaller UK lenders are hoping the Bank of England will limit the scope of the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) this year, relieving them of the potentially challenging task of raising new bail-inable debt in the capital markets.

Rating: Baa2/BBB/A

Hammerson, the UK property company, launched a £550m rights issue on Thursday morning, becoming the latest firm to come to market with a large capital raise to offset the damage of a long Covid-19 pandemic.