UK

It is with sadness that the global banking fraternity bids farewell to HSBC’s Russell Julius, who passed away on April 8, at the age of 57.

The London Stock Exchange Group has appointed David Schwimmer, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as CEO of the company.

Royal London Asset Management was the sole investor in £30m of bonds issued by the Church of England Pensions Board in early April.

European high yield bond issuers roadshowed for seven lower rated new offerings this week, leaving behind the quiet of the post-Easter recess. What followed was a vigorous tug of war over pricing and terms in which bankers and investors claimed different victories.

Some US private placement investors in London are investing more time and resources on bilateral US PP transactions that do not involve either syndication or agent banks, so as to gain full allocations and originate their own business.

Californian private equity firm Bertram Capital is combining its European portfolio company Anord Control Systems with UK firm Mardix. The move was funded in the direct lending market with a participation from arranger Barings.

Perella Weinberg Partners said on Monday that Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, former president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in EMEA, and one of the UK’s most senior corporate financiers, will join as a partner in its advisory business. He will be joined by Matthew Smith, Barclays’ head of UK corporate finance.

Virgin Money could soon appear with a debut covered bond after Fitch and Moody’s assigned top ratings to its €7bn programme with the expectation of a £500m five year soft bullet deal.

The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday expressed concerns over the potential consolidation of market power in the hands of a few trading and clearing players, saying that a "lack of competition" could result in "higher prices" or a reluctance to invest to meet client needs.

BMW sold one of the first two trades in the euro corporate bond market in 2018. It took until April to follow that with a five-tranche offering in the dollar market. It waited less than the week then to make its first visit to the sterling market, but found sterling investors in a similarly stubborn mood to that of euro investors.

Santander UK found strong demand for a three year floating rate sterling covered bond on Friday and will be followed by Sparebank 1, which has mandated leads for investor meetings with a view to issuing a sterling five year. At the same time, SBanken Boligkreditt has mandated leads for a roadshow with a view to issuing its first euro deal.

China Resources Land bagged Rmb4bn ($635.7m) from a two tranche Panda bond on Wednesday, marking its fifth outing in the market. But the issuer had to change tack at the last minute after investor demand built up for the longer-dated note.