UniCredit

Issuers lined up to print in euros on Tuesday as a vital European Central Bank meeting loomed later in the week — but bankers were divided as to how much the flurry of deals was down to concerns over the central bank meeting.

Commodities trader Trafigura has tightened pricing by double digit basis points on its European loan refinancing and expects to raise more than $5bn, according to sources.

Ten of the 11 banks that underwrote Saipem’s €3.5bn rights issue sold the bulk of their remaining overhang in the stock in a block trade on Monday night, making a gain. But Banca Imi decided to take the riskier path of selling its holdings by itself at a later date.

All but one of the banks that underwrote Saipem’s €3.5bn rights issue, and were left holding €427m of the Italian oil and gas engineering group’s stock, are selling down their stakes tonight.

Core eurozone issuers are set to pepper the euro curve over the next two days, before all attention turns to a much anticipated European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE), the largest electricity provider in Slovenia, will begin roadshowing its high yield debut bond on Tuesday, as market conditions recover from a bruising start to the year.

Two of Italy’s popolari banks have registered to be listed on the Italian stock exchange and, with two others entering advanced merger talks on Tuesday, the country finally looks to be making headway on the banking reforms passed last year.

UniCredit was largely absent from the euro senior market last year, but, having successfully priced a new seven year last Friday, the bank’s head of group finance expects a busier year in 2016.

The unusual financing structure that China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) is using for its $43bn acquisition of Syngenta drew a varied response from banks in Europe this week. Some saw the non-recourse structure for $20bn of the debt as shielding lenders from exposure to ChemChina, while others did not.

Bankers and investors are preparing for a busy week ahead as four CEEMEA borrowers announced mandates and roadshows this week.

Two Turkish bond deals this week were seen as a welcome treat for investors starved of recent supply from the country, and more is still in the pipeline.

Porsche AG has grown its Schuldschein from the launch size of €200m to €1.1bn, in another big deal for the private debt market.