UK

Since the return of the corporate bond market in late August after its summer break, weekly issuance volumes have been fairly consistent. Within that though there have been a number of days without issuance and some days have been busy. Thursday was the busiest yet with six new deals pricing.

US firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) took on bank loans totaling around £1.65bn to part finance its acquisition of half a wind farm off the UK coast, with the rest of the debt raised coming from private placements.

Having said that it would raise $5bn-$7bn of additional tier one paper this year, HSBC was set to hit this target by selling its first ever issue in its home market on Thursday.

The identity of the new European capital markets and financial hub after Brexit has been a hot topic of debate ever since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, but as firms have chosen different locations across the continent in which to base their EU27 headquarters it is becoming clear that no single location is likely to replace London.

Bookrunners on the Funding Circle IPO, put out a covered message for Thursday night, only one day after setting a price range for the sale and announcing a closing date of September 27, earlier than some in the market were likely expecting.

US firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is putting together a financing package of around £3.5bn to fund its acquisition of half a wind farm off the coast of the UK that has been dubbed the largest of its kind by the seller.

NatWest Markets attracted €4bn of demand for a short-dated floating rate bond on Wednesday. Bankers on and off the deal disagreed about the size of new issue premium offered.

Loans bankers backing the merger between UK supermarkets J Sainsbury and Asda will have to wait before releasing funds for the multi-billion sterling deal, after the UK competition watchdog referred the deal for in-depth review.

Phoenix Group Holdings was unable to tighten the pricing for its debut deal in the euro market on Wednesday, a €500m long 10 year bullet.

Market conditions have been shaky at times this year, and UK institutions in particular are under pressure as the country negotiates its departure form the EU. But Peter Doherty, managing partner and chief investment officer of Tideway Investment Partners, remains bullish on sterling hybrid debt.

NEX Group is set to pay $50m after settling with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations that brokers in its subsidiary ICAP helped bank traders in their attempts to manipulate the USD ISDAFix benchmark.

The City has prepared as best it can for a no-deal Brexit, but it's not just the immediate effects it needs to worry about — the UK government’s disdain for the industry its Brexit planning will diminish UK-based financial services for many years, and the government doesn't seem to care.