UK

A pair of UK names are in talks to amend and extend their existing debt, as loans bankers again complain that the high grade loan market continues to be populated with pseudo-refinancings that are cheaper than the real thing.

Equity investors are questioning the lack of issuance in primary markets given the relative calm in secondary equity indices, with some expressing concern that companies may end up missing an ideal window to come to market in 2019.

The UK’s Centrica has signed revolving credit facilities totalling £4.2bn, after the energy company put out mixed results last week.

Sir Gerry Grimstone is vacating his position as chair of Barclays’ non-ringfenced bank at the end of the month, to be replaced by incoming group chair Nigel Higgins.

Analysts at Deloitte said this week that they expected the Bank of England would not renew its Term Funding Scheme, leading to a substantial rise in secured issuance volumes. This is at odds with the views of some market participants, who believe that Brexit could make a new funding programme inevitable in the UK.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has issued a decision against three funds that it has found to be in breach of competition law, for sharing price thoughts with each other during an IPO process.

UK Commercial Property Reit (UKCM) has added to its revolving credit facilities and reduced its term loans, shaving 10bp off its cost of funding, as lenders say sterling loans are viable despite Brexit uncertainty.

UK gambling software firm Playtech has raised its revolving credit facility to €272m, having agreed its first deal of that type since printing its debut bond in the last quarter of 2018.

There are just five more weeks until the UK is due to leave the European Union. Is now the time for this old China hand to make his return?

UK retailer J Sainsbury’s acquisition of Walmart-owned Asda looked on the edge of failure this week, potentially scuppering around £2.95bn of loans supporting the deal at a time of rock bottom volumes in the market.

The UK banking sector has more links to China than the equivalent sectors in the US, Japan, the euro area and South Korea do combined. Analysts are warning that China's growth is slowing, and HSBC’s poor results have been linked to this. But those espousing that view are overstating the connection.

Société Générale has put six of its London-based equity capital markets bankers "at risk" as the French bank looks to streamline its business by consolidating it in Paris.