UK

Features in UK covered bond programmes offer limited protection and could lead to a delay in the classification of defaulted loans, Moody’s said this week. Meanwhile in Europe, regulators have muddied the waters on payment moratoria legislation.

The UK Debt Management Office has announced the timing and the banks for its upcoming syndication next month, as it continues to plough through its unprecedented borrowing programme.

HSBC Holdings is the latest European financial institution to have looked at launching a new deal for the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) while simultaneously announcing tender offers on existing bonds.

European insurance companies were busy raising capital in every major currency this week, as they showed they were not willing to let a strong issuance window pass by them amid Covid-19.

Shares in IWG, the London-listed operator of serviced offices and co-working spaces, rose by 15% on Thursday after the company successfully tapped investors for £315m to fund growth once the Covid-19 global pandemic subsides.

Insurance company Phoenix Group Holdings launched a tier two in the dollar market on Thursday in a refinancing exercise, making use of favourable conditions across the board with a "well received" trade. But the issuance raised some concerns regarding the company’s plans to deleverage after its acquisition of ReAssure.

The EU should further loosen bank leverage ratio requirements if it wants to avoid a credit crunch amid Covid-19, according to Michael Lever, head of prudential regulation at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.

UK food and ingredients company Tate & Lyle has sold a $200m US private placement, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Several agents have said that requests for proposals are now rolling in after a quieter few months.

Chinese companies are likely to consider London as an alternative foreign listing venue, according to sources speaking to GlobalCapital, following a regulatory crackdown in New York and increased political tensions between the US and China.

Metals and mining company Vedanta Resources is seeking a bridge loan of $2bn to $2.5bn to take its India-listed subsidiary private.

Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest financial institution to extend the life of an additional tier one capital instrument (AT1), after arguing on Friday that it would be "uneconomic" for it to refinance its €750m 6.375% notes amid the stress of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bank of England has reminded UK lenders to apply ‘sound risk management practices’ in the capital treatment of their mortgages amid Covid-19, after the Financial Conduct Authority extended its payment holiday scheme by another three months.