UniCredit

Two borrowers from Denmark and Norway launched their first euro denominated covered bonds this week, expanding the number of issuers to a new record.

Sappi Papier, the Austrian-South African paper manufacturer, sold €350m of secured notes at 4% to refinance its 2021 dollar bond, in a European high yield market that has brought forward its post-Easter pipeline of deals.

GlobalCapital announces the results of its Equity Capital Markets Awards for 2015, following our inaugural ECM Awards Dinner, in London on March 16.

Azerbaijan's Southern Gas Corridor Company has released initial price thoughts for a 10 year bond at 7% yield area. The deal size has officially been set at benchmark, but GlobalCapital understands the state-owned company is looking for a deal of around $1bn.

Akbank has received commitments for its first annual loan refinancing and will sign the deal on Friday.

The Republic of Bulgaria is fully funded for 2016 and the international bond it printed earlier this week will be its only one for the year, according to deputy minister of finance Karina Karaivanova.

UniCredit has announced a series of changes to its international wholesale businesses, including establishing a new UK coverage business.

Sappi Papier, the Austrian-South African paper manufacturer, is seeking to issue €350m of secured notes to refinance its 2021 dollar bond, in a European high yield market that has brought forward its post-Easter pipeline of deals.

Deutsche Telekom returned to the benchmark euro bond market after a three year hiatus on Monday, raising €4.5bn across three tranches.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi did not disappoint with his latest burst of stimulus on Thursday — although some public sector bankers felt his latest efforts to boost the eurozone economy could have damaging effects on the SSA bond market.

Berlin Hyp (BHH) issued the first negative yielding fixed rate euro covered bond on Tuesday, days before the European Central Bank lowered the discount rate further into negative territory.

TeamSystem, the Italian business software vendor, has funded the entire €600m of debt for its leveraged buyout by Hellman & Friedman with privately placed bonds — an event some high yield bankers and investors see as impressive, but not necessarily starting a trend.