UK

Royal Bank of Scotland said on Monday it would take a loss on buying back some £2.3bn of opco and holdco debt, as it continues to position for the incoming total loss absorbing capacity (TLAC) regulations.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has boosted its institutional sales team in Europe, hiring Paul Lavelle from Royal Bank of Scotland.

Jefferies and UBS conducted on Thursday night the second block trade of shares in DFS Furniture, the UK sofa retailer, since they led its £221m IPO in March 2015.

The UK Debt Management Office started its 2016-17 funding programme by auctioning £5.25bn of debt this week, using a mechanism it has introduced to enhance Gilt price discovery.

The first block trade in Worldpay since its £2.5bn IPO in October took place on Wednesday evening, as Advent and Bain, its private equity owners, sold a 13.75% stake for £740m. The sale went very well, as it was soon increased and priced at a tight discount.

Covered bond borrowers in the UK, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands met with strong receptions for their transactions this week, which collectively raised nearly €6bn.

The Schaeffler family’s €1.24bn clear-out block trade in Schaeffler non-voting shares failed to clear on Monday night, leaving the four lead banks long of the stock.

Bank of Cyprus will aim to complete its move to the London Stock Exchange as early as possible in the second half of 2016 — though whether any equity capital will be issued or sold as part of the new listing is not yet clear.

Miles Tadman, former distressed debt analyst at Deutsche Bank and Barclays, has joined investment banking firm SC Lowy in London.

Two UK borrowers, Kier Group and Laird, are marketing their first ever Schuldscheine, as UK borrowers return to the market after a long break.

Galloper Wind Farm is syndicating £1.1bn of loans to a second group of banks, a banker familiar with the deal said this week.

Burford Capital, the litigation finance firm listed in London, has opened a two week subscription period for an offering of eight year retail bonds that are being marketed to investors who want to “bypass the economic cycle”.