UniCredit

Central bank governors, chief executives, fintech pioneers and bankers met at the GCC Financial Forum hosted by Euromoney in Bahrain's capital Manama to discuss the reinvention of financial services and its impact on markets. Low oil prices and fiscal dilemmas across the region have not deterred capital market participants from robust activity, as investors and lenders exude confidence in the capacity of regional banks to incorporate financial innovation into their products.

UniCredit’s German subsidiary, HVB, attracted much more demand for a €500m tap of a 10 year benchmark on Wednesday than when the bond was originally issued in January. Not only that but it did so at a tighter spread and new issue concession. The strong execution underscores just how much market sentiment has improved.

ThyssenKrupp, the German steel and engineering company, has raised €1.5bn in the corporate bond market, despite downward pressure on its credit ratings as it prepares to spin off its capital goods business later this year.

Italian auto finance bank FCA Bank found the feelgood factor in full effect on Friday as market participants suggested it priced a new three year deal more than 40bp tighter than if it had sold the same deal at the start of the year.

BBVA did not have to offer any premium to investors to bring in a new tier two bond on Thursday, according to lead managers, as asset managers show renewed thirst for debt from southern European financial institutions.

German car leasing company Sixt has launched a Schuldschein with an initial size of €200m, according to two Schuldschein market participants.

Italy’s UniCredit was able to raise €1bn of new tier two capital without having to pay a large premium on Wednesday, adding to recent evidence that the subordinated debt market is in rude health.

Southern European banks were given a lift at the beginning of the week, when they emerged from the European Central Bank’s annual supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP) with their capital requirements broadly unchanged.

Shares in Symrise, the German supplier of food flavouring and fragrances, rose as much as 2.1% on Friday morning after the company completed a €400m capital increase to finance its acquisition of International Dehydrated Foods in the US.

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The theme in the euro public sector market this week was large book sizes despite issuers paying very little concession, with Finland, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Madrid and the Joint Länder all keeping close to their curves.

UniCredit has hired Richard Burton to lead its corporate and investment banking operations, alongside a host of other changes to its senior staff, as it looks towards a future strategy. On Thursday it revealed results welcomed by analysts.