UK

Public sector borrowers are considering sterling deals next week — but any issuance will hinge on the result of the UK’s general election on Thursday. The vote will also have a large bearing on Gilt yields, said analysts.

The rise of Barclays and HSBC in UK investment banking, against a backdrop of falling fees and political uncertainty, puts further pressure on an already crowded market and the squeeze will only get worse, argues David Rothnie.

Skipton Building Society is looking to diversify its wholesale funding, and is expected to issue covered bonds and senior debt.

The debate on clearing euro derivatives showed signs of heating up on Wednesday, when a French regulator speaking at the International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London insisted that the activity should take place in the eurozone.

Intercontinental Exchange chief Jeffrey Sprecher on Tuesday compared the shutting down of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) clearing and exchange operation in London to a "canary in a coalmine" as the UK's European Union exit draws closer.

Industrial Commercial Bank of China’s London branch and subsidiary signed a self-arranged $1.25bn facility in an oversubscribed deal with 16 banks on Tuesday. The deal follows a spate of lending by the bank in emerging market deals.

Insurance broker Towergate priced its £800m high yield bond to finance its merger with four UK peers, resulting in a new company called Kirs. The deal follows a string of successful high yield sterling issues but faced pre-election jitters.

Nordic Capital and Avista this week completed the second block trade in ConvaTec, the UK wound care and catheters company, since its £1.6bn IPO in October 2016.

Another vibrant week in the equity block trades market was capped off on Thursday night by two big trades in the France and the UK.

HSBC Holdings stormed into the Singapore dollar bank capital market on June 1 with a S$1bn ($722m) additional tier one that notched up a number of firsts, as the issuer took advantage of the liquidity and stability of the currency.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) is keeping its options open on a planned syndication for September, as Gilt yields fell following polls showing the opposition Labour Party was gaining ground on the ruling Conservatives ahead of next week’s UK general election.

Barclays has sold more than half its stake in Barclays Africa, its separately listed South African subsidiary formerly known as Absa Bank, through a huge R37.7bn ($2.9bn) block trade on Wednesday night that was covered in 45 minutes.