UK

HSBC UK Bank plc has set up a UK covered bond programme which, in contrast to its previous one, sits inside its ring-fenced entity and is likely to be used for distributed issuance.

Shares in ActiveOps, the Reading-based management software company, traded up more than 13% on Monday after the company made its debut on London’s alternative investment market (Aim).

CNP Assurances found favourable pricing in dollars this week, when it ventured into the Reg S market for its second sale of restricted tier one (RT1) capital.

Digital 9 Infrastructure, an investment trust that invests in digital assets, has completed a London IPO raising £300m for investments. Its first acquisition will be in a company that owns transatlantic fibre-optic cables used by large internet companies.

Financial institutions bond bankers are hoping to build back better in April after coping with a tumultuous end to the first quarter. They say the holiday season and a recent back-up in yields will combine to create the perfect conditions for a long-awaited credit rally.

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The UK issued its second ever sukuk on Thursday, raising more than double the amount it had with the first in 2014.

Belfius cancelled a consent solicitation for one of its tier two bonds this week after the Single Resolution Board took the market by surprise and broadened the scope of its grandfathering period for ‘Brexit bonds’.

Société Générale benefitted from calmer issuance conditions on Thursday as it sold €1bn of new tier two debt. The deal takes another chunk out of the issuer’s capital plans, which totalled a sizeable €4.5bn at the beginning of the year.

NatWest Group is looking to smarten up its capital structure by repurchasing up to $6.7bn of its subordinated debt from investors, including two legacy instruments. The offer arrives a week ahead of a deadline for UK banks to submit official clean-up plans for their old-style securities.

LondonMetric, the listed UK real estate firm, has sold £380m of US private placements, according to market sources. One tranche had a green component, which priced tighter than another coupon with the same maturity.

PensionBee, the UK online pensions provider, is preparing to go public on the London Stock Exchange, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.