UK

In contrast with its US counterpart this week, the Bank of England elected to keep its base interest rate on hold at 0.25% at its meeting on Thursday. However, the vote was closer than expected and the circling hawks caused a sell-off in Gilts and may have spoiled the outlook for sterling borrowing.

US telecoms company AT&T returned to European markets on Wednesday with a £1bn September 2037 bond, as it followed up a €7bn multi-tranche deal it sold just a week earlier.

In contrast with its US counterpart this week, the Bank of England elected to keep its base interest rate on hold at 0.25% at its meeting on Thursday. However, the vote was closer than expected and the circling hawks caused a sell-off in Gilts.

A Goldman Sachs managing director is taking up a new job as head of cross-asset quantitative trading at Barclays.

Buyers of sterling high yield bonds were set to show what they make of the June 8 elections in the UK, and the country's economic landscape on Tuesday, as online grocer Ocado priced the first all-round domestic deal since the vote.

Lloyds was selling a seven year floater from its holding company on Wednesday, in a deal that bankers described as a post-election ‘vote of confidence for the UK’ following the general election.

On paper, the message from investors in the European leveraged finance market appears to be: ‘What are you waiting for?” Finally, this week, issuers appeared to have obliged them.

HSBC has hired Rob Ritchie as co-head of global banking, UK.

Lloyds Bank has launched cash tender offers for about £6bn of dollar, euro and sterling senior bonds, as the UK financial institution looks to shrink the pool of outstanding notes issued from its operating company (opco).

Compass Group, the UK food service company, has hired banks for a potential euro or sterling bond issue, though some investors have doubts as to whether the sterling credit market can shrug off the uncertainties of UK politics.

London based clearing house LCH on Monday announced it had appointed Michael Davie to the position of global head of rates.

The corporate credit market has given an almighty shrug on Friday to the surprise UK election result that came in overnight, with primary issuance expected to resume as normal next week helped by technical factors.