UK

In this round-up, RMB-denominated cross-border trade settlement suffers a big setback in 2016, turnover in the Chinese interbank foreign exchange (FX) markets revolves almost entirely around dollar trades, and GF International launches a China A-shares fund on the London Stock Exchange. Plus a recap of our coverage.

Affordable Housing

Telecom company TalkTalk and loan guarantor Amigo have this week jumped into the wave of new high yield bond issues listing on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange (CISE) as a way to get round the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), writes Victor Jimenez.

Mizuho International, the securities and investment banking arm of Mizuho Financial Group, has hired an experienced banker to lead its European derivatives risk solutions business.

The enduring nature of sterling covered bonds was underscored again this week with deals issued by Lloyds Bank and BayernLB taking this year’s total in the UK currency to six.

UK premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover on Thursday sold its first euro bond at one of the lowest coupons seen in the high yield market in the last two years.

The sterling high yield bond market on Thursday sent a message of confidence to issuers as UK telecoms firm TalkTalk increased its £300m unsecured bond on the back of heavy demand.

Calum Macphail has joined Legal & General Investment Management as its head of corporate private credit, three months after leaving M&G Investments.

Barratt Developments, the UK home builder, has lengthened the tenor of a revolving credit facility by two years.

Wrangles over the future of euro interest rate swap clearing after Brexit were revived this week, with both European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and outgoing US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Timothy Massad suggesting that the EU should maintain oversight of the UK market. Meanwhile, two London-based executives argued that the UK should extend its EU exit process to five years to avoid losing swaps business to the US.

UK guarantor loans company Amigo Loans on Wednesday became the third European business to launch a high yield bond this year and the second to list on the increasingly popular Channel Islands Securities Exchange.

Canaccord Genuity has hired an experienced ECM banker to be its head of UK and European equity capital markets.