UK

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”.

The global head of infrastructure at Crédit Agricole will replace Jean-Francois Balay as global head of debt optimisation and distribution, as Balay becomes global head of risk.

A March recovery in European bank stocks is looking short lived after Barclays warned investors that first quarter investment banking revenues would be poor, and Italian banks resumed their slide.

Cerberus Capital Management’s launch of a £6.2bn UK RMBS deal — the biggest European ABS sale since the financial crisis — has finally lifted the uncertainty that has been hanging over the UK ABS market since the Granite sale process began a year ago, according to market participants.

trueEX, the interest rate swap trading platform, has started supported market activity during London business hours as it looks to build its client base in Europe.

Much of the UK media just cannot leave the prospect of an uncovered — or, to use the common but incorrect parlance, “failed” — sovereign debt auction alone. Even when the UK Debt Management Office introduces a new mechanism to improve price discovery, stories are littered with references to boosting demand.