UK

Liberbank’s inaugural covered bond issued on Wednesday showed that investors are still hungry for paper that offers a positive yield and good relative value. The Spanish deal drew more than twice as much demand as Skipton Building Society’s competing negative yielding transaction, which was the third UK covered bond issued this week.

Barclays has become the second financial institution to issue an additional tier one (AT1) in the sterling market this week, supported by a quiet backdrop in UK politics and healthy investor demand. The issuer was 7.5 times subscribed for its £1bn deal.

Nationwide Building Society raised £600m of additional tier one (AT1) capital this week with the help of strong support from sterling investors, some of whom were pleased to see that the UK lender had developed a more efficient method for calling and refinancing deals in the asset class.

Sirius Minerals is in big trouble, and that means big losses ahead for the mainly retail investor base, who saw their shares dive 50% on Tuesday morning. Since the crisis, regulators have strained every nerve to keep complex, risky products out of retail hands — while retail investors have merrily piled into loss-making tech stocks and cryptocurrencies, and gambled on extractive industries. How much protection do they need?

Nationwide Building Society was more than six times subscribed on its return to the additional tier one (AT1) market on Tuesday, revealing the extent of investors’ appetite for the asset class.

Demand for euro covered bonds issued on Tuesday by Virgin Money, NN Bank and DZ Hyp has markedly improved from earlier this month, and lead managers have announced a further series of transactions from Royal Bank of Canada, SR Boligkreditt, Skipton Building Society and Liberbank.

Shares in fertilizer miner Sirius Minerals plummeted as much as 60% on Tuesday morning after the company was forced to finally pull a $500m high yield bond offering it had postponed in August.

After a tumultuous year, the UK’s Metro Bank is readying a return to the bond market to raise debt for its minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) ahead of a 2020 deadline.

Aviva Investors has appointed a head of environmental, social and governance for its real estate business.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX’s) proposition to acquire the London Stock Exchange Group last week was nothing short of bewildering. Instead of showcasing the HKEX’s ambition with such a bid, the move has only served as an embarrassing reminder of the bourse’s shortfalls.

Lloyds Bank attracted a large and diverse order book for its €750m 10 year covered bond on Monday and has provided ‘the last missing piece’ for bankers working on Virgin Money’s debut euro covered bond, which is expected to be announced soon.

UK coach operator National Express has entered the US private placement market, according to market sources, looking for £200m-equivalent, in dollars, euros and sterling.