UniCredit

Italian property has been one of the more disappointing sectors in European equity capital markets recently, so it was a welcome change that in a still bare calendar of formally announced IPOs, two of those that have appeared are for Italian real estate investment trusts.

A bevvy of public sector borrowers are lining up euro deals for Tuesday and beyond — but some are opting to hold back price thoughts amid a cluttered and volatile backdrop.

Republic of Poland offered a healthy concession in the early pricing stages as it ventured into the markets with the first bond from CEEMEA in 2016 on Monday.

Central and Eastern European loans look set to start the year with a bang as a financing of around €2bn for Czech’s Energetický a průmyslový Holding (EPH) should close by the end of this week or early next, according to two bankers on the deal.

Borrowers who issued covered bonds this week that are eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme (CBPP3) did not receive such a strong reception as those whose bonds were not eligible.

The European corporate bond market is preparing for another dose of quantitative easing this year and with the US Federal Reserve having finally pressed the rate button, Ross Lancaster explores what the side effects of central bank policy divergence will be.

Investment grade loan pricing has stopped falling — meaning the flow of refinancing deals is ebbing. Mergers and acquisitions, as ever, are what banks want, and they are confident of getting more in 2016. But will banks finally get round to weeding out unprofitable relationships? Rob Cooke reports.

Commodities trader Trafigura will next week launch its refinancing of a $5.3bn facility, with Glencore expected to follow shortly thereafter. Bankers believe these issuers will retain support from key lenders, despite their mixed successes in 2015.

Oil trader Vitol is syndicating a $3bn loan with a margin of 185bp and should complete the deal by the end of the month, according to a banker involved.

Private bank Otkritie has nearly completed a $185m one year loan, one of only a few international loans completed by Russian banks since the introduction of financial sanctions on the country by the US and European Union in late 2014.

Russian fertiliser producer EuroChem has secured a €557m club loan for a subsidiary with the support of SACE, the Italian credit export agency.

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the emerging market, public sector, financial institution and corporate bond markets. Below are the EM Deals of the Year 2015. We selected the trades that we think will be remembered for their success in challenging conditions, for making the best use of the demand available to them, or for having made a longer lasting impact, such as the re-opening of a market. The winners are presented here.