UK

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on Tuesday said it had moved to the testing phase of a new credit derivatives “warehouse” that processes credit derivatives trades with distributed ledger technology (DLT).

Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) and Coventry Building Society have mandated leads for the first five year Sonia-linked covered bonds, Lloyds is out with the first Reg S dollar covered bond from a UK issuer in years, and DZ Hyp has mandated leads for the first deal under its new brand name. Elsewhere, Bank of Nova Scotia has opened order books for a three year sterling tap.

Two listings from Slovenia and Belarus are due to close this week and the sellers are hopeful of getting the deals across the line, despite market challenges.

FX and equity markets jump as a possible US-China trade deal is back in sight, Chinese president Xi Jinping promises more developments on free-trade zones and a registration-based stock system, and the Dubai International Financial Centre takes action to expand Chinese institutions’ access to the Middle East Africa and South Asia (MEASA).

Merian Chrysalis Investment Co, a new closed-end investment fund focused on private companies, has raised £100m against a difficult market backdrop, after concluding its fixed price IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

The euro leveraged loan market appears keen to counter recent criticisms against lack of financial maintenance covenants with yet more cov-lite issuance, including a buyout deal from private schools operator Inspired.

Representatives from European Union member states are debating the make-up of a proposed body to supervise clearing houses (CCPs), according to leaked documents seen by GlobalCapital.

BioPharma Credit, the UK closed-end investment fund that provides debt funding to the life sciences industry, has priced its latest capital raise, growing the deal to $305m.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the UK gas distribution company headquartered in Yorkshire, has sold £200m of US private placements notes, pricing at a tighter margin than what it could achieved from a sterling bond, said a US PP market participant.

The privatisation of Kazatomprom, the Kazakh producer of natural uranium, moved ahead on Wednesday after bookrunners kicked off a marketing roadshow and set a price range for the listing.

UK supermarket retailer Tesco announced on Monday that its most recent tender offer had been oversubscribed, completing a successful liability management exercise (LME) after selling €750m of bonds a fortnight previously. The company hopes the success of the deal will help it on the way to regaining its investment grade status with all rating agencies.

The UK’s The Restaurant Group (TRG) has agreed to buy compatriot pan-Asian dining chain Wagamama, and is set to finance the bulk of the deal by raising £535m through new debt and a rights issue.