UniCredit

The economies of Italy and China do not appear to have much in common. Italy’s government would welcome a GDP growth rate of 1%, while China expands at less than 7% and investors take flight. One is a sclerotic, decaying Western country, the other is a dynamic Asian tiger. Such is the conventional wisdom.

As two senior Loan Market Association members leave the loan market, one will relinquish his role at the LMA while the other will stay on.

The State of Baden-Wüerttemberg and NRW.Bank priced deals in euros on Wednesday thus avoiding a clash with Thursday's European Central Bank meeting.

ChemChina is in the early bird stage of syndication for its KraussMaffei acquisition loan and is targeting relationship banks, according to a banker familiar with the deal. Commitments are due around the end of the month.

While markets have been badly affected by a mixture of worrying economic data from China, falling commodity prices and a continued slump in many emerging markets, the SSA market looks solid.

The State of Baden-Württemberg announced on Tuesday its intention to print a 10 year euro benchmark in a week in which investors await a decision on Thursday from the European Central Bank regarding interest rates.

The European Investment Bank and the Federal State of Berlin announced on Monday their intention to print in euros in a week in which the European Central Bank is expected to make a decision regarding interest rates.

Several major Italian ECM deals are set to move forward in the next few weeks. Saipem, the oilfield services company, will open subscription for its €3.5bn rights issue on Monday January 25. And Veneto Banca is set to announce in the next couple of weeks more detail of its €1bn capital increase and flotation, to be completed in April.

Covered bonds issued this week from Lloyds and Bank of Nova Scotia were among the largest seen this year and attracted the biggest order books.

Five issuers from core Europe priced covered bonds this week but the standout success, which could have been priced without the European Central Bank’s help, was the first Austrian deal of the year from Erste Bank.

Republic of Poland

A series of oversubscribed deals among core issuers could encourage Austria to seek a print in the current market.