UK

A shock result in the UK general election on Thursday had little effect on the Gilt and sterling SSA market on Friday, leaving the door open for any issuers considering deals next week, said bankers. The medium term picture may be harder to glean, however, with sterling’s fall against the dollar potentially impacting the cross currency basis swap between the two.

Equity capital market bankers are dazed but calm this morning, after the UK's shock general election result produced a hung parliament, in which it may be very difficult for any party to form a stable government.

Clearing experts vigorously debated the topic of central counterparty (CCP) recovery and resolution this week at the Futures Industry Association's International Derivatives Expo (IDX).

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.