UK

Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) intends to buy back all of its covered bonds due 2017 which are validly tendered, and was due to set the purchase price on Friday afternoon.

The Bank of Scotland has issued a consent solicitation requesting a switch from hard bullet to 12 month extendable soft bullet maturities for seven of its benchmark deals.

All but one of Afren's directors resigned on Thursday, ahead of the firm’s annual general meeting, pre-empting what some shareholders had expected would be a bloodbath vote for any historical director seeking re-election.

Rating: A1/A/AA-

In this round-up, Singapore deposits fell in the first quarter this year, Taiwan RMB deposits rose to a new record, Bank of China joined the new gold benchmark, and the first overseas inverse ETF shorting A-shares entered the market.

In this round-up, South Korean RMB deposits fell in May, China's RMB denominated trade settlement also fell, SIX Swiss Exchange signed an MoU with Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the London Stock Exchange signed an agreement with Haitong Securities to co-operate on launching RMB-denominated ETFs in London.

Yorkshire Building Society showed RBC how to syndicate a deal on Thursday, choosing a maturity, size and spread that made sense from the start.

SCBC mandated leads for a seven year covered bond on Wednesday, the second in that tenor from Sweden and the third in that tenor overall this week. The transaction comes as RBC struggled to build strong demand for its seven year after Bund yields soared. Yorkshire Building Society has responded to concerns around volatility and mandated leads for a shorter maturity.

200 years might have passed since Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo. But some things in war — and finance — do not change, such as the absolute importance of being ahead of the game. Nathan Rothschild cleaned up on the Gilt market thanks to his rapid, reliable, and finely honed communications system that brought him news of Wellington's victory ahead of anyone else in Westminster and the City.

Rating: –/B+/BB+

Yorkshire Building Society mandated leads for a roadshow on Wednesday to market a euro denominated benchmark, the issuer’s first in a year. Only two UK borrowers have launched euro benchmarks this year and bankers say a €500m deal with an intermediate maturity should have a good chance of success.

Shanks, the unrated UK waste management company with large operations in Belgium and the Netherlands, is offering its first green bond, targeting retail investors in Belgium and Luxembourg.