UK

The Bank of England is to postpone the launch of its second biennial exploratory scenario, it said on Tuesday, because both the supervisor, and the firms it monitors, will need to focus resources on dealing with the UK’s departure from the EU instead.

The Bank of England, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and a number of other industry trade bodies from across Europe have piled pressure on the European Union to deal with the risks of a disorderly Brexit for derivatives contracts.

The London-Shanghai Stock Connect, slated to be launched by the end of the year, has the capital market’s attention, given its vast potential. But bankers and industry associations want more clarity on the operational aspects of the link.

GlobalCapital understands UK utility company Scottish and Southern Electric (SSE) is roadshowing in the US private placement (US PP) market for £400m ($528m) equivalent offer across dollars and sterling.

UK local authorities could turn to the capital markets to fund council housing development after the prime minister Theresa May announced plans to scrap a long-standing cap on borrowing, writes Silas Brown.

Dancing and Abba aside, Theresa May impressed with her speech at the Conservative Party conference earlier this week. Her decision to lift the cap on local authority borrowing so that councils can start to build houses again is to be applauded.

UK banks are finding safe harbour in the dollar market as investors in other currencies grow nervous that the country will end up with a messy break-up with the European Union. Their reliance on dollars for capital is only likely to increase as Brexit day approaches.

HSBC said on Thursday that it had strengthened its infrastructure and real estate team, hiring six bankers externally and making five internal appointments.

A dearth of corporate bond supply on Wednesday, due to a German public holiday, was followed by deals from airport operators in two markets on Thursday. Aéroports de Paris (AdP) opted for the domestic route, while Heathrow made its first visit to the Australian market.

Steven Maijoor, the head of pan-European securities regulator ESMA, on Wednesday called for European firms' continued access to UK clearing houses (CCPs) after Brexit, to address potentially massive disruption to markets.

Perhaps the two most prominent UK deals of the autumn IPO calendar have suffered in secondary trading. But market participants are convinced that this is due to specific reasons in each case rather than a systemic issue with the IPO market.

Barclays is on the verge of signing up for four more years of its partnership with the Unreasonable Group, a company that supports high-achieving entrepreneurs leading businesses that solve social or environmental problems.