UK

Barclays has hired two interest rates options traders in London, as it seeks to grow the business and expand its product offering.

Boston Scientific, the US medical devices manufacturer, has agreed to buy the UK’s BTG for £3.3bn, with Barclays providing a bridge loan to finance the medical industry transaction and continue the trend of borrowers turning to small banking groups to fund purchases.

The Bank of England has said that it will publish the results of its hotly anticipated stress test of major UK banks next week, rather than in December as originally planned. The performance of the country's lenders has been in focus amid uncertainty around Brexit.

The vague equivalence arrangement laid out as a possible future relationship between the UK and EU on financial services is unsuitable for two jurisdictions with such interconnected markets, and it is in the best interests of both UK and European firms to push for a closer relationship.

JTC, the UK provider of institutional and private wealth services, has increased its sterling revolving credit facility provided by HSBC from £10m to £55m, adding three banks to its lending group.

The revolt by UK politicians against the draft Brexit agreement reached by prime minister Theresa May forced TSB Bank to pull its covered bond on Thursday, with investors also selling out of positions in other UK banks. The market fallout adds a thorn to the side of other institutions from the country planning to raise financing over the coming weeks, but it may not be enough to completely shut down markets, write Bill Thornhill, Jasper Cox, Tyler Davies, Sam Kerr and Nigel Owen.

Public sector borrowers are likely to be the only beneficiaries from the fresh bout of Brexit inspired volatility that hit markets this week, said bankers. A Gilt auction that came at the height of the disruption served to bolster that case.

When market makers start sending runs (lists of prices) based on nation states rather than sectors it may be a harbinger of fundamental change in how European credit is traded.

The UK’s TransferWise has signed a £65m revolving credit facility, as the cross border money transfer company looks to fund future growth.

Despite offering an attractive premium, TSB Bank was unable to garner enough interest for its five year sterling covered bond on Thursday, forcing it to postpone the deal. The decision followed a high level UK government resignation that caused considerable market volatility in the UK banking sector.

London-based clearing house LCH has started processing swaption trades through its SwapAgent service, making a play for the largely uncleared market.

A large UK council has held discussions with a selection of US private placement (US PP) arrangers over the possibility of raising more than £200m in a single issue, according to a senior banker familiar with the situation.